Since the 2016 presidential election, political pundits have put Trump’s win down to “economic anxiety”. Now a new study has revealed his voters, mostly less-educated white people, weren’t concerned about losing their income or jobs – instead they didn’t want to lose their dominant status in society.
Using survey data from the 2012 and 2016 elections, the researchers found Trump supporters were more likely than Clinton voters to feel that “the American way of life is threatened” and that ‘high-status’ groups, like men, Christians, and whites, are discriminated against.
Most people did also vote for the same party in both 2012 and 2016. But between the four years, people – mainly Republicans – developed a much more negative view toward international trade, seeing it as something that came at the expense of American jobs.
Why does it matter? Governments often form new policy based on what they think will appeal to the masses.
That border wall with Mexico suddenly looks a whole lot more likely.
