The problem is that America is, at its deep core, racist and patriarchal. The obsessions of right wing demagogues derive from the fact that a majority of white people in America will buy into bigotry at the drop of a hat: Drag queens are responsible for widespread harm! (Reality: Zero harm). Immigrants are somehow simultaneously illiterate thugs AND taking all the good jobs. The leap to anti-Semitism, misogyny, and Christian theocracy is a short hop from there.