Who Wears the MAGA Hat? Racial Beliefs and Faith in Trump. (March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Graham, Amanda; Cullen, Francis T.; Butler, Leah C.; Burton, Alexander L.; Burton, Velmer S.
• Is Part Of: Socius. Volume 7(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-03
• Subjects: white nationalism -- Trump -- MAGA -- racial resentment -- racial sympathy; Sociology -- Research -- Periodicals; 301.07205
• DOI: 10.1177/2378023121992600
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2378-0231

Abstract

On the basis of a 2019 YouGov survey of white respondents ( n = 734), the impact of racial beliefs on support for Donald Trump was explored. The analysis revealed that in addition to racial resentment, white nationalism—a desire to keep the United States white demographically and culturally—was strongly related to faith in Trump. Analyses based on a 2019 Amazon Mechanical Turk survey yielded similar results and also showed that white nationalism increased willingness to wear a MAGA hat. Future research on the political consequences of racial beliefs should focus on what whites think not only of blacks but also of themselves.