Abstract
AbstractIn spite of its immense global impact, Republicans and Democrats disagree on how serious a problem the coronavirus pandemic is. One likely reason is the political elites to whom partisans listen. As a means of shoring up support, President Trump largely downplayed but at times hyped the severity of the virus. Do these messages influence the perceived seriousness of the virus’s death toll, how the president is evaluated as well as support for and compliance with social distancing guidelines? Results suggest that Republican identifiers had by early June crystallized their views on the virus’s seriousness, the president’s performance, and social distancing policies and behaviors. Unexpectedly, information critical of President Trump’s policy decisions produced a backlash causing people to show less concern about the virus’s death toll and rate the president’s performance even more highly.
Highlights
Political elites try to bolster their support by shaping citizens’ perceptions of reality.1 During normal times, this is a concern for the functioning of democracy; during a period of crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic, it may mean the difference between life and death
This is a concern for the functioning of democracy; during a period of crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic, it may mean the difference between life and death
This paper explores the malleability and consequences of the variability of people’s sense of seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic
Summary
Political elites try to bolster their support by shaping citizens’ perceptions of reality. During normal times, this is a concern for the functioning of democracy; during a period of crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic, it may mean the difference between life and death. Political elites try to bolster their support by shaping citizens’ perceptions of reality.. Political elites try to bolster their support by shaping citizens’ perceptions of reality.1 During normal times, this is a concern for the functioning of democracy; during a period of crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic, it may mean the difference between life and death. Despite the pandemic’s scale, people, divided by party, disagree on the severity of the problem (Mitchell and Oliphant 2020; Rothwell 2020). This paper explores the malleability and consequences of the variability of people’s sense of seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. Why might elites want to shape citizens’ perceptions of the seriousness of problems besetting society? President Trump and other political elites have
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