David Leonhardt: Listen to him

President Trump keeps encouraging violence. It matters. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Monday, March 18, 2019 [NYTimes.com/David-Leonhardt »]( [Op-Ed Columnist] Op-Ed Columnist There was a lot of news last week. A college-admissions scandal. A plane crash. An awful terrorist attack. Beto O’Rourke’s campaign announcement. So maybe you missed the president of the United States muse aloud about violence by his political supporters. [My column]( this morning is about that threat. President Trump keeps encouraging both violence and white nationalism — and white-nationalist violence is rising. That’s not a coincidence. He doesn’t deserve blame for any specific attack. But he deserves blame for using the world’s biggest bully pulpit to corrode our democracy and public safety. He’s engaging in behavior that has scary historical echoes and real-world effects. Related: “Violent white nationalists think Trump is a white nationalist,” [Judd Legum]( writes, in a detailed post at Popular Information. “The President of the United States is dismissing the threat of white nationalism, using white nationalist rhetoric, and aggressively pursuing policies favored by white nationalists.” Senator Substance Among the 2020 Democratic candidates, Elizabeth Warren has jumped out to a big early lead in the ideas competition. She has the most ambitious, detailed policy agenda of any candidate. After sitting down with her for two recent conversations — including one you can listen to [here]( — I wrote about her platform [in a Sunday Review column](. I don’t agree with every Warren proposal, as I explained. But she has correctly diagnosed the biggest problems facing the American economy and has proposed a coherent post-Obama vision for the party. I hope the other 2020 candidates also offer clear visions — and, ideally, different ones — for fixing an economy that has created so much frustration. If you want to dig in deeper on Warren’s agenda, you can read [John Cassidy]( in The New Yorker or the former Obama administration officials [Lily Batchelder]( or [David Kamin]( on Twitter. Of Warren’s proposal to put workers on corporate boards: Vox’s [Matthew Yglesias]( and the Roosevelt Institute’s [Susan Holmberg]( have praised it. [Eric Levitz]( of New York magazine has compared it with Bernie Sanders’s platform, and [Jeffrey Miron]( of Harvard has criticized it. Of Warren’s plan to break up big tech: [Michael Tomasky]( praises it in The Daily Beast. [The Washington Examiner editorial board]( — not normally a Warren fan — offers partial praise. [Megan McArdle]( of The Washington Post lists her criticisms. My colleague Paul Krugman has also written [several]( [recent]( [columns]( praising Warren’s emerging agenda. ADVERTISEMENT If you enjoy this newsletter, forward it to friends! They can [sign up for themselves here]( — and they don’t need to be a Times subscriber. The newsletter is published every weekday, with help from my colleague Ian Prasad Philbrick. David’s Morning NYT Read [The Cruel Irony of ‘Free’ College Promises]( By TIFFANY JONES Forget admissions bribery. For poorer families, even “free public college” isn’t free if only tuition costs are covered. David’s Latest Column [It Isn’t Complicated: Trump Encourages Violence]( By DAVID LEONHARDT He doesn’t deserve blame for any specific attack. He does deserve blame for the increase in white-nationalist violence. The Full Opinion Report [The Moral Wages of the College Admissions Mania]( By FRANK BRUNI Just what is all this scheming and obsession with status teaching children? [Is the Force With Beto?]( By MAUREEN DOWD A tulip craze swept a young Democrat into the White House once. Will it happen again? [This 8-Year-Old Chess Champion Will Make You Smile]( By NICHOLAS KRISTOF Overcoming life’s basic truth: Talent is universal, but opportunity is not. [Americans Are Divided by Their Views on Race, Not Race Itself]( By ERIC KAUFMANN It’s a crucial difference — and grounds for optimism. [Why Do Central European Nationalists Love Israel So Much?]( By IVAN KRASTEV Benjamin Netanyahu provides a very attractive model. [The Death of Compassionate Democracy]( By MARGARET RENKL Following the Koch playbook, Tennessee keeps finding new ways to undermine the welfare of its citizens. [China’s Brutal ‘Boarding Schools’]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Beijing’s indoctrination centers for Muslim Uighurs are stark violations of human rights. [What Democrats Need to Know to Win in Rural America]( By ROBERT LEONARD AND MATT RUSSELL The G.O.P. under President Trump has given liberals an opening in places like Iowa. But they need to know how to speak to voters here. [I Am an Immigrant. Someday You Might Be One, Too.]( By LAILA LALAMI Increasingly, people are being forced to flee their homes not just by war and poverty, but also by climate change. It’s time we rethink our antiquated ideas about immigrants. [Is Computer Code a Foreign Language?]( By WILLIAM EGGINTON No. And high schools shouldn’t treat it that way. [Netflix Has Turned Its Back on Latinos]( By VANESSA ERAZO The cancellation of “One Day at a Time” hurts in a way the diversity numbers can’t fully convey. [Wait, How Did You Get Into College?]( By JENNINE CAPÓ CRUCET How first-generation students learn about the myth of meritocracy. [Our Brother, Our Executioner]( By OMER AZIZ Racism begins with ideas. It ends with violence. [Dissecting the Dreams of Brexit Britain]( By JAMES MEEK I’ve traveled England trying to understand what drives the Brexit psyche. [Reflections on the College Scandal]( Readers clarify who was really harmed, defend the deserving Ivy Leaguers, advise parents to “back off” and sympathize with the kids of the parents charged. ADVERTISEMENT FEEDBACK and HELP If you have thoughts about this newsletter, email me at [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=David%20Leonhardt%20Newsletter%20Feedback). If you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other non-journalistic issues, you can visit our [Help Page]( or [contact The Times](. FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's David Leonhardt newsletter. 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