Dartmouth Events

Trump's Rhetoric and Expressions of Prejudice among the Mass Public

Brian Schaffner Newhouse Professor of Civic Studies Department of Political Science & Tisch College, Tufts University

Monday, April 29, 2019
12:45pm – 2:00pm
Blunt 205
Intended Audience(s): Public
Categories: Free Food, Lectures & Seminars

What happens when a prominent political elite violates norms of political and social discourse? The 2016 presidential campaign provided an example of such a dynamic, featuring a presidential candidate who made frequent comments that were explicitly prejudiced. What consequence did Trump's campaign have on the nature of mass rhetoric regarding issues of race? To answer this question, I use data from experiments fielded on the 2016 and 2017 Cooperative Congressional Election Studies. These experiments show evidence of a so-called ``Trump Effect.'' That is, exposure to Trump's prejudiced statements made people more more likely to write offensive things, not only about the groups targeted by Trump, but sometimes about other identity groups as well. 

For more information, contact:
Laura Mitchell

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.