Last month at a rally in Houston, Texas, President Donald Trump identified himself as something that should surprise no one that has followed his presidency: that he is a nationalist.

He came out of the closet so-to-speak when he said “You know, they have a word – it’s sort of became old-fashioned – it’s called a nationalist. And I say, really, we’re not supposed to use that word. You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist. Nothing wrong. Use that word. Use that word” as well as denouncing globalists and globalism.

While a dictionary definition paints the term as being inherently benign, a “loyalty and devotion to one nation especially” according to Merriam-Webster, many have associate the term, and now Trump, with its more negative connotation. Nationalism in the 20th century deferred from nationalism shortly before it because instead of being associated with separatist movements or the simple advocacy of the nation-state model of government, authoritarian movements used it to describe their campaigns of genocide, conquest, and censorship. The Italian Fascists and the German National Socialists (Nazis) both advocated a view in which their own nations and peoples were so exceptional, that all others must be vanquished or made subservient. These types of movements defined politics in the 20th century, giving the term “Nationalism” a bad taste in the mouths of modern Americans, despite the fact that America’s history has been defined by nationalism, for better or for worse,

Trump’s comments are given with the aforementioned history of the word, which, for better or for worse Trump may not have known about or realized, as well a the contemporary example of ethno-nationalism, which Trump should definitely be aware of after the Charlottesville disaster, where an avowed white-nationalist ran down and killed a counter protester with his car. Ethno-nationalism is a desire for a nation of those within the same ethnic group as one another, and while Black Nationalism has existed for much of American history, White Nationalism as recently caught the public’s attention, and it has not been positively received.

And so, Trump’s comments received the obligatory crisis response form the left and praise from the right, but what does the average Tewksbury resident think of the President’s stance?

After interviewing about 15 locals of varying age and perceived political affiliations, I received some interesting answers for my three questions:

• What do you think “Nationalism” means?
• Would you consider yourself a “Nationalist”?
• What do you think Trump meant when he called himself a “Nationalist”?

On Question 1, people needed a refresher on the definition of the word for the most part, but many eventually came to the conclusion that it was simply a want for politicians to focus on America first, with only a few participants identifying it as the jingoistic movement of old. One older participant explicated “I think words do change meanings, and even though it was used in the name of atrocities at one time in history, that today it can mean a positive thing, what with the world globalising”.

Question 2 defied age and seemingly went completely along political lines, with liberals of young and old preferring to not be called nationalists, or even be called nationalists, while most conservatives preferred the term. One couple shared opposing views, with the wife claiming that “I think when everyone looks after their own, everybody is better-off” while the husband countered by saying “We share a world with other nations, borders and identities and all of it are just b**l-s**t”

On Question 3, while almost everyone, except for a few younger conservatives, perceived Trump as having sinister motives behind the comment, there seemed to be a disagreement about the manner between the old and the young.  A young person told us that he is “dog-whistling” to white nationalists, while an older person told us that he thinks Trump is simply “more […] worse, than a patriot”.

When considering nationalism, the question is between  patriotism and hate, love of your people, and fear of others, proactivity and jingoism. The nation cannot decide how it feels about itself.