ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on insights from critical race theory and critical whiteness studies to examine the confluence of Donald Trump's white nationalistic strongman rhetoric and performances on the campaign trail, Tom Brady's silence on Trump's racial performances, and Under Amour's peculiar Nazi-themed/American patriotic representation of Brady. The racial meanings of Trump's performances and Brady's Under Armour representation can only be deemed unproblematic if viewed through a white racial frame that dismisses how Trump has not only tapped into a growing reactionary white racial anger, but has cultivated and legitimated the open expression of white supremacist qua white nationalist discourse in mainstream American media culture. Trump's pugnacious, yet stylized performance as America's authoritarian national protector is a caricature produced out of Republicans' own hysterical criticisms of Obama's putative softness on "Islamic radicalism"—despite all evidence to the contrary. It is important to note that commercial sports and sport media have been key sites in normalizing militarization in post-9/11 America.
