With regard to the 2016 election, several studies have found that greater endorsement of sexist beliefs about women was related to voting for Trump (e.g., [1][2]). In particular, Bock et al. [3] found that undergraduate students who endorsed greater hostile sexism toward women (post-election) were more likely to have voted for Trump instead of Clinton. In nationally representative samples, greater hostile sexism toward women (pre-election) predicted voting for Trump instead of Clinton [4][5]. Thus, Clinton’s loss may have been due to gender stereotypes and sexist beliefs about women that deemed her as less competent than a male candidate. Given negative evaluations of women in nontraditional roles (e.g., Clinton running for president), sexism toward women, particularly hostile sexism, might have played a role in voting behavior during the 2016 presidential election. Clinton’s campaign as the first female president may have challenged societal stereotypes and indicated a push toward further equality and against traditional sexist attitudes toward women.
Racism
Some political analysts have argued that the results of the 2016 U.S. presidential election demonstrated the continued presence of racism in the U.S. 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 [6][7][8][9]. 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. For example, Trump made several comments during the campaign that were deemed racist (e.g., suggesting that some Mexican immigrants are rapists and criminals) and some of his proposed policies were viewed as instilling racist attitudes (e.g., advocating for a Muslim-specific travel ban; [10][11]). With regard specifically to anti-black racism, several individuals, including Clinton, alleged that Trump had previously discriminated against Black renters [12][13][14]. Additionally, Trump promoted a conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama was not a U.S. citizen–a theory some have deemed racist [13]. These issues were raised during the 2016 campaign cycle [15][14]. Experimental work has demonstrated that presenting information about changing U.S. demographics (i.e., increasing minority group representation) to White individuals who strongly identify with their racial group induces group status threat and increases support for Trump [16]. Thus, Trump’s perceived endorsement of racism and dissatisfaction with Obama’s presidency by status threatened White Americans may have increased support for Trump’s candidacy. Some research has examined the role of racism, particularly Modern Racism, in politics. Since the Equal Rights Movement in the U.S., there has been a significant shift in social norms regarding the open expression of racism (e.g., [17]). In contemporary times, traditional, overt forms of racism and discrimination are generally not socially acceptable. As such, racism has become more subtle and covert, and old-fashioned measures of racism are generally not valid (i.e., most respondents provide socially desirable answers). Modern Racism is 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 [17][18][19]. That is, 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). Dwyer and colleagues [20] proposed that Modern Racism played a significant role in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. They found that greater Modern Racism was associated with more negative evaluations of Barack Obama and more positive evaluations of Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate. Interestingly, ambivalent sexism toward women did not predict evaluations of Sarah Palin or Barack
- ↑ Bracic A., Israel-Trummel M., & Shortle A. F. (2019). Is sexism for white people? Gender stereotypes, race, and the 2016 presidential election. Political Behavior, 41(2), 281–307. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s11109-018-9446-8
- ↑ Knuckey J. (2019). “I just don’t think she has a presidential look”: Sexism and vote choice in the 2016 Election. Social Science Quarterly, 100, 342–358. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12547
- ↑ Bock J., Byrd-Craven J., & Burkley M. (2017). The role of sexism in voting in the 2016 presidential election. Personality and Individual Differences, 199, 189–193.
- ↑ Rothwell V., Hodson G., & Prusaczyk E. (2019). Why Pillory Hillary? Testing the endemic sexism hypothesis regarding the 2016 US election. Personality and Individual Differences, 138, 106–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.034
- ↑ Schaffner B. F., MacWilliams M., & Nteta T. (2018). Understanding white polarization in the 2016 vote for president: The sobering role of racism and sexism. Political Science Quarterly, 133, 9–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/polq.12737
- ↑ Craig M. A. & Richeson J. A. (2017). Information about the US racial demographic shift triggers concerns about anti-White discrimination among prospective White “minority”. PLOS One, 12(9).
- ↑ Feffer, J. (2017, January 24). Witnessing the birth of a new nationalist world order. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feffer/the-birth-of-a-new-nation_b_14361104.html
- ↑ Knowles E. D., & Tropp L. R. (2018). The racial and economic context of Trump support: Evidence for threat, identity, and contact effects in the 2016 Presidential Election. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(3), 275–284. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/vxh4z
- ↑ Mutz D. C. (2017). Status threat, not economic hardship, explains the 2016 presidential vote. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States of America. 115(19) E4330–E4339.
- ↑ Time Staff. (2015, June 16). Here’s Donald Trump’s presidential announcement speech. Time Magazine. Retrieved from http://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-announcement-speech/
- ↑ Merica, D. (2017, May 8). Trump campaign removes controversial Muslim ban language from website. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/08/politics/trump-muslim-ban-campaign-website/index.html
- ↑ Kessler, G. (2016, September 28). Fact checker: Trump’s claim that a racial discrimination suit was ‘brought against many real estate firms.’ The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/09/28/trumps-claim-that-a-racial-discrimination-suit-was-brought-against-many-real-estate-firms/
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lopez, G. (2019, July 15). Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019. Vox. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mahler, J. & Eder, S. (2016, August 7). ‘No Vacancies’ for Blacks: How Donald Trump Got His Start, and Was First Accused of Bias. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/
- ↑ Baisley, I. J. (2016, September 17). Birtherism Isn’t Going Away. Politico. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com
- ↑ Major B., Blodorn A., & Major Blascovich G. (2018). The threat of increasing diversity: Why many White Americans support Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 21, 931–940. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430216677304
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 McConahay J. B. (1986). Modern racism, ambivalence, and the Modern Racism Scale. In Dovidio J. F. & Gaertner S. L.(Eds.), Prejudice, discrimination, and racism (pp. 91–125). San Diego, CA, US: Academic Press.
- ↑ McConahay J. B., & Hough J. C (1976). Symbolic racism. Journal of Social Issues, 32(2), 23–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1976.tb02493.x
- ↑ Dovidio J., Gaertner S. & Kawakami K. (2010). Racism. In Dovidio J. F., Hewstone M.& Glick P. (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination (pp. 312–327). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446200919.n19
- ↑ Dwyer C. E., Stevens D., Sullivan J. L., & Allen B. (2009). Racism, sexism, and candidate evaluations in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 9, 223–240.
