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struggle4progress

(118,320 posts)
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 04:13 PM Aug 2017

5 types of Trump voter

BY EMILY EKINS, OPINION COLUMNIST - 08/05/17 07:00 AM EDT

... A statistical analysis of an 8,000 person survey uncovered five different types of Trump voters. These voters disagree on nearly every major policy issue surveyed — including on health care, taxes, immigration, race, and matters of American identity. These internal disagreements help to explain why the Trump agenda is having a difficult time in Congress even as 82 percent of Republicans remain behind him.

One group of Trump backers, whom I call American Preservationists, comprise Trump’s core base of supporters who propelled him through the primaries. They have lower incomes and education and are underemployed. Nearly half of those working age are on Medicaid. Out of step with Republican orthodoxy, Preservationists favor tax hikes on the wealthy, are deeply skeptical of immigration — both legal and illegal — and overwhelmingly support a temporary ban on Muslim immigration. They also feel less favorable toward immigrants and racial minorities, and nearly half think being of European descent is important for being truly American.

Free Marketeers are 25 percent of Trump’s backers and they are the mirror image of American Preservationists, having the highest incomes and education levels. They are most skeptical of Trump, with most saying they voted against Hillary Clinton rather than for Trump. In contrast to the Preservationists, these are small government fiscal conservatives who embrace free trade. At the same time, they are as likely as Democrats to have warm feelings toward immigrants and racial minorities, and to support making legal immigration easier.

The largest Trump voter group is the Staunch Conservatives. They are 31 percent of his support and were the group that combined with the American Preservationists to give Trump the Republican nomination. They are loyal Republicans with conventionally conservative positions on social and economic issues. They also have warm feelings toward racial minorities in the U.S. However, although not as hardline as the Preservationists, they too are skeptical of immigration and strongly support a temporary travel ban on Muslims traveling to the U.S.

Had Anti-Elites, 19 percent of his voters, not turned against Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump may have lost the presidency. About half had positive views toward Clinton just four years ago. They support a more progressive tax code, a plurality support a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, and they are as favorable toward racial minorities as non-Trump voters. Why aren’t the Anti-Elites Democrats? In addition to sharing Trump’s disdain for elites, they soured significantly on Hillary between 2012 and 2016 and are more cautious of immigration than Clinton ...

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/345412-opinion-the-5-types-of-trump-voter-how-a-fractured

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marylandblue

(12,344 posts)
2. This is an important analysis
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 04:35 PM
Aug 2017

All American political parties are coalitions. It's not a simple left-right thing. Trump built a coalition of these groups, but if he can't hold them together, Democrats have an opportunity to build a new coalition including some former Trump voters.

struggle4progress

(118,320 posts)
5. There are ideologues; there are idiots; and there are the ignorant but educable
Sat Aug 5, 2017, 09:51 PM
Aug 2017

Different persons can be dangerous or reachable in different ways

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