How Trump Used Outgroup Hostility to Win

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 9 shows that the Trump campaign’s explicitly stated strategy of mobilizing nonvoters through targeted, emotional appeals in swing states paid off. The chapter also provides empirical evidence that Trump benefited more from mobilizing nonvoters from 2012 than in persuading 2012 Obama voters to switch parties and support Trump, although both groups of voters were important to Trump’s success. We show that one of the most important factors that contributed to the success of Trump’s mobilization strategy was his rhetorical emphasis on outgroup hostility, which resonated among the most hardcore racists within the white nationalist movement, including the emerging alt-right, leading to an unprecedented level of interest from and involvement of white nationalism in Trump’s campaign. By providing a more attractive venue for white nationalists to channel their activism, Trump has essentially facilitated the co-optation of a significant segment of the white nationalist movement into the Republican Party, helping him mobilize white nonvoters with high levels of outgroup hostility and as a result accelerate the mainstreaming of racism in American politics.