Populism and Identity Politics in the Age of Trump

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Session Description

This roundtable session will examine the intersection between identity politics and populism as manifested in the United States during the present Donald Trump-dominated era. The participants’ comments and reflections will all draw on original data collected as part of the 2018 Cooperative Congressional Election Study. Themes will include differing conceptions of American national identity, the relationship between populist or anti-elite political sentiments and racial and gender identities/resentments, and the relative impacts of economic status and group identity in driving attitudes on core populist issues like immigration, trade, etc. Is the populist movement embodied and channeled by President Trump a reaction against increasingly prominent identity politics in America, or a form of identity politics itself—or, perhaps, both? To what extent do supporters of different parties and candidates in America express divergent views on the core elements of national identity? Is there a distinctive populist view of “Americanness” that diverges from the traditional conceptions of both left and right? Who are the elites against whom populists are rebelling (economic elites? cultural elites? intellectual elites?), and how do those resentments map onto the current partisan cleavages in American politics? This roundtable will address all of these questions and more, with answers that are not just speculative and observational, but informed by original survey data designed specifically to speak to these very issues. Session participants, with diverse research foci that include racial and ethnic politics, public opinion and party dynamics, immigration policy, and religion and politics, are well positioned to address these questions from a variety of interesting angles.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 37: Public Opinion

Chair

• Matthew Wilson Southern Methodist University

Presenters

• Danielle Lemi Michigan State University

• Harold D. Clarke University of Texas at Dallas

• James F. Hollifield Southern Methodist University

• Marianne C. Stewart University of Texas at Dallas