The American right claims to have a monopoly on patriotism. It celebrates the accomplishments and culture of rural white Christians. They’re what America is all about–the default, if you like.
But that is only a part of America. The dynamic, productive part is in the cities and, to some extent, the suburbs. It is ethnically diverse, increasingly female, and secular. It provides the impetus for wokeness, for better and for worse.
The reactionary base wants the second part of America to bend the knee to it. It fights for political power in order to oppress everyone who doesn’t agree with its values. It hates the idea of a diverse, changing America. It denies we are Americans at all. It wants us gone.
Even Xi probably wouldn’t go that far.