Status Hierarchy and Non-white Support for Trump

• In Event: Asian American Politics: Race, Identity, and Political Behavior

Abstract

It is well established that Donald Trump's rhetoric and actions during his candidacy and presidency endorsed existing group-based social hierarchies, helping to boost his support among White Americans, especially men and those without a college degree. But how did these endorsements shape support for Trump among non-White Americans? Extant theories suggest that these actions should have pushed racial and ethnic minority voter support for the GOP candidate to its lowest observed levels in contemporary political history. Yet Trump outperformed these expectations in 2016 and in 2020 among Black, Latinx, and Asian American voters. We propose the same embrace of social hierarchies that motivated White support for Trump also motivate the political preferences and behaviors of a significant number of non-White Americans as well. Using several national large-N surveys conducted between 2010 and 2021 with large samples of Black, Latino, and Asian Americans, we explore how support for existing status hierarchies---both gender and racial---engendered support for Trump across racial and ethnic groups and discuss implications for the future of electoral politics in a rapidly diversifying U.S.

Authors

• Jessica Geiger, Claremont Graduate University

• Shawn Matiossian, Claremont Graduate University

• Tyler Thomas Reny, Claremont Graduate University