Originally posted by Adam_PoE
New research published in the journal American Political Science Review revealed that people who expressed extreme dislike toward Democratically-aligned minority groups were more likely to approve of Donald Trump when he made his way into politics, regardless of their party alignment. Animosity toward these groups did not predict support for other Republican candidates, suggesting the effect is unique to Trump.The researchers analyzed data to test whether a respondent's feelings toward a particular social group in 2011 would predict their approval for Trump years later in 2018. Importantly, the researchers controlled for political preferences and demographics at baseline.
It was found that animosity toward Democratic-linked groups was robustly associated with later support for Trump: people who showed extreme dislike for Muslims, African Americans, Hispanics, or LGBT people were much more likely to approve of Trump when he made his way into politics.