Support for Trump Associated With Sexist and Racist Attitudes: Study

By Kam Kompani,

March 26, 2020



A more positive evaluation of President Trump and the intention to vote for him in 2016 was associated with higher levels of “modern racism”, sexism and nationalism. Whereas the opposite correlation was true for Hillary Clinton, according to a new study of the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.

The study’s objective was to assess the merits of a popular explanation as to why Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in 2016: namely, that sexist, racist, and/or nationalist attitudes influenced voting decisions.

The researchers defined “modern racism” as a “more subtle form of prejudice that is conceptualized as anti-Black feelings and beliefs that are expressed in such a way that they can easily be concealed or explained away.” Further elaborating that: “rather than endorsing overt forms of discrimination and prejudice (e.g., segregation), individuals high in modern racism are more likely to support policies that indirectly disadvantage African Americans (e.g., ending affirmative action).”

This type of covert racism has emerged since “overt forms of racism and discrimination are generally not socially acceptable [any longer]”, the researchers added.

The authors also distinguished between two types of sexism: hostile and ambivalent.

“Hostile sexism refers to more traditional prejudice and hostility toward women, and it is based on beliefs that women are threatening men’s position and power.”

“Benevolent sexism includes attitudes of appreciation for women, but is based on beliefs that women are weaker than men and traditional gender roles should remain in society. As such, men should protect women.”

The study was carried out in two stages. In the weeks leading up to the election, a group of voting age U.S. citizens were asked to complete a series of online surveys and questionnaires designed to gauge their attitudes, as well as to specify how they viewed the candidates and who they will cast their votes for. The second part of the study took place the day after the election, during which the participants indicated who they voted for.

The authors found that out of the three factors studied, where participants fell on the modern racism spectrum related the most consistently with their evaluations of the two candidates, as well as their voting intentions and behavior. A more positive evaluation of Hillary Clinton and intention to vote for her correlated with lower levels of modern racism, whereas the opposite held true for Trump.

When it came to just evaluating the two candidates, the researchers showed that a more positive evaluation of Trump was associated with more racist and sexist attitudes, as well as more nationalistic tendencies.

Sexism toward women, particularly hostile sexism toward women, was significantly correlated with a positive evaluation of Donald Trump.

However, only modern racism was observed to significantly predict voting behavior. Higher levels of modern racism were associated with a greater likelihood of voting for Trump rather than Clinton, including after controlling for demographic variables and party affiliation.

“Of the three narratives proposed to explain the election outcome, the role of modern racism received the most consistent support in the current sample,” the authors concluded.

Adding that: “These findings align with previous research related to the 2008 U.S. presidential election, in which modern racism, but not ambivalent sexism toward women, was associated with evaluations of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin.

“Our findings highlight the potential influence of modern racism in political attitudes and behavior, beyond simply whether one will vote for a black versus a white candidate. They align with work suggesting that status threat experienced by some majority group members may have influenced voting decisions.

“Some political analysts have argued that the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election demonstrated the continued presence of racism in the United States. During the Obama presidency and with the growing diversity of the U.S. population, a portion of white Americans may have felt that their status as the majority was being threatened. Feeling that they were not being represented and that their needs were not being met may have fed into racist sentiments. Trump’s presidential campaign may have appealed to this group by giving voice to their concerns about their place in the country.”

80% of the Public Describes Trump as ‘Self-centered’

A national Pew Research Center survey from earlier this year found that “just 15% of U.S. adults say they like the way he [Trump] conducts himself as president.” Additionally, 80% of Americans believe that the phrase “self-centered” is an accurate description of President Trump, including 73% of Republicans who believe that this describes Trump very or fairly well.

Republicans are also largely aligned with Trump on major issues: “80% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they agree with Trump on many or nearly all important issues facing the country.”

Study: Shook NJ, Fitzgerald HN, Boggs ST, Ford CG, Hopkins PD, Silva NM. (2020). “Sexism, racism, and nationalism: Factors associated with the 2016 U.S. presidential election results?” PLoS ONE 15(3): e0229432.