Chapter 5. Racial Resentment and the Susceptibility to Campaign Appeals

Racial resentment makes certain campaign appeals, like President Trump’s Make America Great Again, more appealing. While many American citizens would like to see their country aspire to greatness, references to the past using “again” activate sentiments about the threat to Whites’ status. Because “again” references a previous era and that individuals’ perceptions of the past are likely shaped by race, African Americans’ and Whites’ interpretations of the slogan are expected to differ dramatically. This expectation stems from the notion that African Americans’ recollection of the past likely reflects a more perilous era in which racial prejudice and discrimination were more pervasive. In contrast, Whites’ recollection of the past likely reflects an era in which they were more dominant and benefitted more from the status quo or when people knew their place and were reluctant to challenge it. Exploring the extent to which racial resentment makes one open to campaign appeals offers important insight into how seemingly benign and ostensibly non-racial expressions (or a single word) can be exploited. The 2016 presidential election will be remembered as one of the most racially polarizing elections, and the Make America Great Again slogan was its call to arms for President Trump.