Ronald Reagan's Use of White Nationalism 

The Reagan campaign employed the "Southern Strategy" implemented by Nixon and other Republicans since the 1960s. Spearheading these efforts was political strategist Lee Atwater, who used bare knuckles tactics to smear Democrats, particularly on the raced issue. In a surprisingly frank 1981 interview, Atwater demonstrated that, in the aftermath of the Civil Rights movement, many Whites had changed their approach to the race issue more than their attitudes.
Reagan himself regularly referred to "welfare queens", while law enforcement offered "a thin blue line" holding back "a jungle which threatens to reclaim this clearing we call civilization." In other words, the administration consolidated Southern support by a subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, appeal to White racism.
Source: HBO/MAX: John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight".