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Most people think race wars should be avoided. But Donald Trump, the actual Republican candidate for president, thought a race war would be great for The Apprentice back in 2005.
McKay Coppins reported for BuzzFeed that Trump proposed the idea during his short-lived syndicated radio show. Trump said he "wasn't particularly happy" with the most recent season of his show, so he was considering "an idea that is fairly controversial — creating a team of successful African Americans versus a team of successful whites. Whether people like that idea or not, it is somewhat reflective of our very vicious world."
The idea never became reality after facing a barrage of criticism.
But it does reveal something interesting about Trump: He's clearly willing to exploit race issues to his advantage.
This has been obvious throughout Trump's run for president. He launched his campaign by calling Mexicans "rapists" who are "bringing crime" and "bringing drugs" to America, and his big policy proposal is building a wall to keep them out. He proposed banning all Muslims from entering the US. He blatantly pandered to white supremacists, including actual members of the Ku Klux Klan, by stalling in explicitly condemning their support.
Trump is playing to a real, racist voting base in America with these ideas. And it shows in polls and surveys: An analysis from Daniel Byrd and Loren Collingwood found white Trump supporters are much more likely to show high levels of racial resentment than other candidates' white supporters.
Based on Trump's comments back in 2005, he was always willing to play the race card in this way.