Way back in 2015, Donald Trump began his run for the White House with a naked appeal to fear rooted in racism. And for the last four years, as he first campaigned and then as he has governed, his tune has remained the same.

His tune has remained the same even as his words have given legitimacy to white supremacists and inspired the murderous acts of racist terrorists. All the while he denies the impact of the noxious bile that spews from his mouth and drips from his Twitter fingers. As he was leaving the White House en route to Dayton and El Paso yesterday, the president took issue with the very idea that his rhetoric might in any way be divisive:

I don’t think my rhetoric does at all. I think my rhetoric brings people together. 

As disconnected from reality as this seems, I think we have to take the president as his word here. His rhetoric really does bring people together. The key question, however, is which people?

We actually have a pretty good idea. As I wrote back in September 2016, the profile of many Trump supporters’ attitudes concerning Muslims and Islam, immigration and immigrants, racism, and their degree of racial resentment, is just as ugly as the president’s rhetoric. To review:

• Nearly 60 percent of Trump supporters had somewhat or very negative views of Islam. More than 75 percent of Republicans favored Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States.
• Trump’s supporters hold strongly anti-immigrant views, and are especially afraid of the cultural impact of Mexican immigration. These feelings are strongest amongst those who live the farthest from the southern border and in areas with fewer residents of Mexican descent.
• Trump supporters are more likely to hold explicitly racist views, and to bear particular resentment toward African Americans.
• Mandatory caveat — These attitudes do not necessarily describe every Trump supporter, so for those of you who take issue with these characterizations, or deny they apply to you, understand that this is the company you keep.

This is what the essence of the president’s base has been from the start, and what it remains. For these loyalists, Trump’s rhetoric isn’t divisive at all, but instead brings them together.

Just as the president said.