Why Do Some Trump Supporters Have a Strong Authoritarian Mindset?
Why have some people stomped on the values they once proudly held?
Authoritarian: favoring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom.
President Donald J. Trump does have an authoritarian style. So it stands to reason that he would attract a certain percentage of the American population who appear to want an authoritarian leader. This is a surprise only because before the era of Trump one could have said these same people were strong constitutionalists. They seemed to have actually studied the document — at least during President Obama’s two terms.
That was when they were patriots.
Remember the slogan “Don’t Tread on Me?” It was often repeated by the patriotic Tea Party. They wanted freedom, they said. In 2020, this president can tread on them anytime. (Hey! Where did the Tea Party go?)
But those values, along with the reduction of the debt (think of the children!), have gone out the window. The debt during President Trump’s term increased by 3 trillion according to Newsweek (1/23/20) and that was before the COVID19 pandemic. This was such a strong priority to Republicans.
But after Trump, they threw their values and beliefs away as if they were no heavier than the dandelion weeds we used to blow away in the wind. Shallow, much?
And despite their indignation at being called racists, one will easily notice that this debt was only important when a Black man held the highest office in the land. Like the wilted Tea Party, all resistance dissolved when Donald J. Trump took office. I once predicted that the Tea Party and all of its drama would fade away when Obama left the White House. I was right.
This is not actually about President Trump
This is about his followers. Why are they so devoted? Why have they stomped on the values that they held lifelong; the values they learned from their parents and those they taught their own children?
Even Trump himself seems to be astonished by this phenomenon. “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK? It’s, like, incredible.”
He’s right. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died as a result of COVID19. Yet, Trump knew on February 7, 2020, that it was “easily transmissible,” deadly, and a plague. He told the writer Bob Woodward on tape that this was so. Then, three weeks later, he told his followers at a rally that it was a Democratic hoax. They believed him. Many Americans have since died.
But this horrible deception has been ignored by his followers.
There is a reason
New research shows that some Trump supporters have an authoritarian mindset. Even though this is a democracy, we do have Americans in this country who are not democratic.
Authoritarianism is what happens “when followers submit too much to the authorities in their lives.” This may sound horrifying because it is so un-American. How did certain Trump followers lose the vital traits of independent thinking and clarity?
Bob Altemeyer (psychology professor) and John W. Dean (attorney), the authors of Authoritarian Nightmare, posit that Republicans who strongly support the president tend to have a desire for an authoritarian government.
They also find shockingly high levels of anti-democratic beliefs and prejudicial attitudes among Trump backers, especially those who support the president strongly.
Altemeyer developed a study called the Right-Wing Authoritarianism scale (RWA). For more, click on the link. Here are some sample questions:
RWA5. The only way our country can get through the crisis ahead is to get back to our traditional values, put some tough leaders in power, and silence the troublemakers spreading bad ideas.
Altemeyer and Dean mentioned that half of Trump supporters agree with the statement below.
RX2. Once our government leaders and the authorities condemn the dangerous elements in our society, it will be the duty of every patriotic citizen to help stomp out the rot that is poisoning our country from within.
Whew! Strong stuff!
And then there’s the racist angle:
* RWA20. This country would work a lot better if certain groups of troublemakers would just shut up and accept their group’s traditional place in society.
Our grandfathers fought against this type of government. They didn’t sacrifice their time or lives for fascism. Those were the policies followed by Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union during WWII. But here lies the danger:
“Trump’s supporters are much more inclined to stomp out the people they dislike than Trump’s opponents are,” Altemeyer said in an email. “This reflects the authoritarian aggression that is a central part of the RWA personality.”
This video is a prime example because it perfectly combines the authoritarian aggression that Altemeyer refers to; harassment AND racism. The Trump fans believed that Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris was on this bus. Donald Trump, Jr is shown in this video encouraging them to welcome her. She was not on the bus.
The “law and order” President of the United States had no problem with this behavior. The problem with authoritarianism? It cherry-picks law and order decisions. Then the law becomes a crapshoot. Is it illegal? It depends on which side you’re on. If it were an Antifa train harassing a Trump bus? The President would be apoplectic.
President Donald Trump tweeted a video of the bus incident with the words “I LOVE TEXAS!” on Saturday, and claimed at a campaign rally on Sunday that his supporters were “protecting” the bus.
This is fascism. If American soldiers from WWII returned to this, they may have been inclined to develop a closer relationship with Antifa. They were trained to be against fascism. They were anti-fascists. Antifa.
We all were then.
After all, wasn’t that what World War II was all about?
Many fervent Trump supporters, Altemeyer and Dean write, “are submissive, fearful, and longing for a mighty leader who will protect them from life’s threats.
So certain (not all) Trump followers are operating from weakness, not strength.
That alone can give us some tools to reduce this hunger for authority. How? We simply have to work to make life better for all. They are fearful because they are insecure.
So we must work together to make Americans more secure; in their homes, health, and financial areas.
America’s future
After such a strong, determined beginning, is this authoritarianism really in America’s future?
I don’t think so. We’ve worked too hard to get where we are. And we can be better.
Look around your community. Pick a project to work on to improve your environment; physically or mentally. Reach out, even to those with who you are not in agreement with (it’s easy to be in agreement with the agreeable, isn’t it?) and get to work.
There is a certain percentage of people who believe fervently in President Trump. In some cases, it borders on worship. However, the rest of us must be here to pick up the pieces whether he wins or…not. Just remember that we still have to fight for what is right, no matter what happens in 2020.
Stay safe. Stay strong.
And God bless America.
