Hostname: page-component-6898cfcb55-th4rj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-11T13:16:11.991Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Activating Animus: The Uniquely Social Roots of Trump Support

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2021

LILLIANA MASON*
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins University, United States
JULIE WRONSKI*
Affiliation:
University of Mississippi, United States
JOHN V. KANE*
Affiliation:
New York University, United States
*
Lilliana Mason, Associate Research Professor, SNF Agora Institute and Department of Political Science, Johns Hopkins University, United States, lmason23@jhu.edu.
Julie Wronski, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Mississippi, United States, jwronski@olemiss.edu.
John V. Kane, Assistant Professor, Center for Global Affairs, New York University, United States, jvk221@nyu.edu.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Partisanship in American politics is inextricably linked with social identities, and sentiments toward party-aligned groups affect political orientations. However, out-group animosity may operate differently depending on the party or elite. We investigate the extent to which citizens’ animus toward (Democratically aligned) minority groups drove political support for Donald Trump, whose incendiary rhetoric regarding such groups is unique in modern presidential politics. Leveraging panel data beginning before Trump’s candidacy, we find that animus toward Democratic-linked groups in 2011 predicts future support for Trump regardless of party identity. This animus does not predict future support for other Republican or Democratic politicians or either party. Nor do we find that animus toward Republican groups predicts support for Democratic elites. Trump’s support is thus uniquely tied to animus toward minority groups. Our findings provide insights into the social divisions underlying American politics and the role of elite rhetoric in translating animus into political support.

Information

Type
Letter
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association
Figure 0

Figure 1.Democratic Group Animosity and Trump Support MeasuresNote: Predicted values from OLS models controlling for party, ideology, education, race, religion, age, gender, income, and political interest. Democratic group animosity is the average feeling thermometer score for African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, and LGBT, coded to indicate less warmth. Originating models for this and all following figures can be found in Appendix A.

Figure 1

Figure 2.Democratic Group Animosity and Trump, Party, and Elite SupportNote: Predicted values from OLS models controlling for party, ideology, education, race, religion, age, gender, income, and political interest. Democratic group animosity is the average feeling thermometer score for African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, and LGBT, coded to indicate less warmth. The distribution of animosity is indicated by the histogram (right y-axis). All measures of approval from 2018, except GOP feelings, which was only available in 2017.

Figure 2

Figure 3.Trump Support and Animus toward Democratic Groups by PartyNote: Predicted values from OLS models controlling for ideology, education, race, religion, age, gender, income, and political interest, and interacting party with group animus. Democratic group animosity is the average feeling thermometer score for African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, and LGBT, coded to indicate less warmth.

Figure 3

Figure 4.Republican Group Animosity and Democratic Party and Elite SupportNote: Predicted values from OLS models controlling for party, ideology, education, race, religion, age, gender, income, and political interest. Republican group animosity is the average feeling thermometer score for whites and Christians, coded to indicate less warmth. The distribution of animosity is indicated by the histogram (right y-axis). All measures of approval are from 2018, except feelings toward the Democratic Party, which was only available in 2017. While we are constrained by the groups measured in the 2011 wave, we suspect that more extreme groups affiliated with the Republican Party (i.e., White Nationalists, NRA activists) would generate more animosity and potentially reveal a significant effect on future support for Democratic elites.

Figure 4

Figure 5.Nonlinear Relationship between Trump Support and Animus toward Democratic GroupsNote: Predicted values from OLS models controlling for party, ideology, education, race, religion, age, gender, income, and political interest. Democratic group animosity is the average feeling thermometer score for African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, and LGBT, coded to indicate less warmth. This figure allows for a nonlinear relationship between animosity and Trump support.

Figure 5

Figure 6.Trump Support and Animus toward Each Democratic GroupNote: Predicted values from OLS models controlling for party, ideology, education, race, religion, age, gender, income, and political interest. Democratic group animosity is the average feeling thermometer score for African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims, and LGBT, coded to indicate less warmth. This figure includes a nonlinear relationship between animosity and Trump support. Histograms represent the distribution of feeling thermometers for each group, with their percentage reported on the right y-axis.

Supplementary material: Link

Mason et al. Dataset

Link
Supplementary material: File

Mason et al. supplementary material

Mason et al. supplementary material

Download Mason et al. supplementary material(File)
File 5.3 MB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.