Caste does not explain everything in American life, but no aspect of American life can be fully understood without considering caste and embedded hierarchy.

Wilkerson says this in Part Six’s Chapter 26: Turning Point and the Resurgence of Caste while discussing Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency in 2016. Wilkerson’s motivation for writing Caste came, in part, from her observations of the discourse around Trump’s campaign and subsequent presidency, often from progressives who believed white Americans had voted overwhelmingly for Trump against their own interests. Wilkerson argues that, when caste is factored in, white Americans voted very much in their own interest in order to protect their high caste status.