The NYT opinion section is very committed to the mission of finding the deep core of legitimate grievance that supposedly underlies right wing populism and/or Trumpism.
He really imagines that rural equates white and so, does not know how to handle either a diverse rural landscape or a diverse country music: Beyonce just did not put on a blonde wig and pretend to be country. The whole point of Cowboy Carter is to point out country’s diverse origins.