Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist

by Eli Saslow

Trump’s rise reminded him of what he had always known as a white nationalist and what he had spent the last years trying to forget. “Intrinsically, white people in this country always expect that their interests should come first,” Derek told Allison that summer. “American history is so fundamentally based on white supremacy that it’s still the basis for most of our culture and our politics.” Whereas that fact had once seemed to Derek like an opportunity as a white nationalist, now he considered it America’s foundational flaw.