Novel Modes of Dissonance Reduction: Justification of Support for Donald Trump

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Harmon-Jones ◽  
Thomas F Denson ◽  
Eddie Harmon-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Misconduct ◽  
The United States ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Experimental Comparison ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Life Study ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Dissonance Theory ◽  
Directing Attention ◽  
Dissonance Reduction

Two studies take a dissonance theory perspective to understanding why individuals support Donald Trump as president of the United States despite accusations that he has engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal activity. Participants were randomly assigned to a dissonance condition in which they read an essay about Trump’s sexual misconduct or a neutral essay. They provided open-ended responses to 2 questions that asked why participants support Trump and how they justify their support given allegations against him. These responses were coded by a judge who was blind to condition. Study 1 was conducted 2 months before Trump was impeached. In this study, 7 categories of reasons for supporting Trump, and 3 categories of justification despite allegations, were identified. A comparison of conditions showed that participants in the dissonance condition were more likely to state that they disbelieved the accusations and less likely to state that Trump’s policies matter and not his personal life. Study 2 was conducted 2 days after the vote to impeach Trump, when high dissonance would be expected for all Trump supporters. Results replicated the categories of support and justification from Study 1, plus additional categories. A quasi-experimental comparison of Studies 1 and 2 showed that those in Study 2 (soon after impeachment) were more likely to state that they support Trump because he truly cares about America and because of his stance on specific policies and issues. The current results suggest that individuals in a naturalistic context may choose a number of different strategies for reducing dissonance, including denying the veracity of information, increasing the importance of consonant information, making cognitions irrelevant, and directing attention to the immoral acts of others. These results are unlike those of most laboratory research on dissonance theory, in which participants are given only one dissonance reduction opportunity.

Palestine Unbound

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-134
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Task Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Tel Aviv ◽  
The Us ◽  
Intention To Move ◽  
Arab Israeli Conflict ◽  
The U.S

This section, updated regularly on the blog Palestine Square, covers popular conversations related to the Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict during the quarter 16 November 2017 to 15 February 2018: #JerusalemIstheCapitalofPalestine went viral after U.S. president Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced his intention to move the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. The arrest of Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi for slapping an Israeli soldier also prompted a viral campaign under the hashtag #FreeAhed. A smaller campaign protested the exclusion of Palestinian human rights from the agenda of the annual Creating Change conference organized by the US-based National LGBTQ Task Force in Washington. And, UNRWA publicized its emergency funding appeal, following the decision of the United States to slash funding to the organization, with the hashtag #DignityIsPriceless.

Comparative analysis of the trade policy of Barack Obama and Donald Trump

2020 ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
V. Iordanova ◽  
A. Ananev
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Trade Policy ◽  
World Economy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Barack Obama ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Entire World

The authors of this scientific article conducted a comparative analysis of the trade policy of US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The article states that the tightening of trade policy by the current President is counterproductive and has a serious impact not only on the economic development of the United States, but also on the entire world economy as a whole.

The Decline of the Liberal Global Order and the Revival of Nationalism

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yale H. Ferguson ◽  
Richard W. Mansbach
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Global Order ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Global Organizations ◽  
Obama Administration ◽  
Us Hegemony ◽  
National Populism

This chapter addresses the erosion of the postwar liberal global order and the accompanying disorder in global politics. It describes the perceptions of declining US hegemony during the Obama administration of American decline and the return of geopolitical and economic rivalries that are undermining the liberal order. The election of President Donald Trump in 2016 in the United States was the most significant manifestation of national populism that has emerged in recent years in Europe and elsewhere. The profile of supporters of national populism are much the same globally. They oppose so-called elites and immigrants (especially minorities) whom they blame for the loss of manufacturing jobs. After defining national populism, the chapter describes how it fosters isolationism and malignant nationalism and focuses on national interests rather than global cooperation. Such policies threaten the movement of goods and people, multinational global organizations, and the postwar order in which globalization thrives.

Development Channelization, Partisanship, and Populism: Possibilities for Rural Renewal in the Death Throes of Coal

2021 ◽  
pp. 073112142110246
Author(s):  
Adam Mayer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Energy System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Coal Industry ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Partisan Polarization ◽  
Rural Economies ◽  
Right Wing Populism

In the last few decades, the United States has experienced several related and significant societal trends—the transition of the energy system away from coal, the intensification of partisan polarization, and the rise of a populist right-wing political ideology, perhaps best exemplified by the election of Donald Trump. We build Gramling and Freudenberg’s little-explored concept of “development channelization” to argue that nostalgic right-wing populism, grievances directed toward the federal government, and partisanship converge to potentially thwart efforts to transition and diversify rural economies. Populist nostalgia and blame are associated with support for expanding the collapsing coal industry but do not predict support for other types of development. There are patterns of partisan polarization in support for extractive industries and wind power, but many development options appear to be relatively nonpartisan. We discuss these findings in terms of populism, nostalgia, partisan polarization, and the potential for rural renewal in the United States.

You’re Fired! Donald Trump and the 2020 Congressional Elections

The Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-650
Author(s):  
Jamie L. Carson ◽  
Spencer Hardin ◽  
Aaron A. Hitefield
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Vice President ◽  
The United States ◽  
Congressional Elections ◽  
General Election ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Modern Era

Abstract The 2020 elections brought to an end one of the most divisive and historic campaigns in the modern era. Former Vice President Joe Biden was elected the 46th President of the United States with the largest number of votes ever cast in a presidential election, defeating incumbent President Donald Trump in the process. The record turnout was especially remarkable in light of the ongoing pandemic surrounding COVID-19 and the roughly 236,000 Americans who had died of the virus prior to the election. This article examines the electoral context of the 2020 elections focusing on elections in both the House and Senate. More specifically, this article examines the candidates, electoral conditions, trends, and outcomes in the primaries as well as the general election. In doing so, we provide a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the climate and outcome of the 2020 congressional elections. Finally, the article closes with a discussion of the broader implications of the election outcomes on both the incoming 117th Congress as well as the upcoming 2022 midterm election.

The great Chinese surprise: the rupture with the United States is real and is happening

2020 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-437
Author(s):  
Xiangfeng Yang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Pendulum Swing ◽  
The Us ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Trade War ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Ample evidence exists that China was caught off guard by the Trump administration's onslaught of punishing acts—the trade war being a prime, but far from the only, example. This article, in addition to contextualizing their earlier optimism about the relations with the United States under President Trump, examines why Chinese leaders and analysts were surprised by the turn of events. It argues that three main factors contributed to the lapse of judgment. First, Chinese officials and analysts grossly misunderstood Donald Trump the individual. By overemphasizing his pragmatism while downplaying his unpredictability, they ended up underprepared for the policies he unleashed. Second, some ingrained Chinese beliefs, manifested in the analogies of the pendulum swing and the ‘bickering couple’, as well as the narrative of the ‘ballast’, lulled officials and scholars into undue optimism about the stability of the broader relationship. Third, analytical and methodological problems as well as political considerations prevented them from fully grasping the strategic shift against China in the US.

“I’m Not going to the f***ing White House”: Twitter Users React to Donald Trump and Megan Rapinoe

2020 ◽  
pp. 216747952095077
Author(s):  
Evan L. Frederick ◽  
Ann Pegoraro ◽  
Samuel Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Black People ◽  
The United States ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
White House ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
Inductive Analysis

When asked if she would go to the White House if invited, Megan Rapinoe stated, “I’m not going to the fucking White House.” The next morning, President Donald Trump posted a series of tweets in which he criticized Rapinoe’s statements. In his tweets, Trump introduced issues around race in the United States and brought forth his own notion of nationalism. The purpose of this study was to conduct an analysis of users’ tweets to determine how individuals employed Twitter to craft a narrative and discuss the ongoing Rapinoe and Trump feud within and outside the bounds of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and nationalism. An inductive analysis of 16,137 users’ tweets revealed three primary themes: a) Refuse, Refute, & Redirect Racist Rhetoric b) Stand Up vs. Know your Rights, and c) #ShutUpAndBeALeader. Based on the findings of this study, it appears that the dialogue regarding racism in the United States is quickly evolving. Instead of reciting the same refrain (i.e., racism no longer exists and systematic racism is constructed by Black people) seen in previous works, individuals in the current dataset refuted those talking points and clearly labeled the President as a racist. Additionally, though discussions of nationalism were evident in this dataset, the Stand Up vs. Know Your Rights theme was on the periphery in comparison to discussions of race. Perhaps, this indicates that some have grown tired of Trump utilizing nationalism as a means to stoke racism.

Unresolved Issues in Controlling the Tuberculosis Epidemic Among the Foreign-Born in the United States

1996 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-536
Author(s):  
Guido S. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Treatment Programs ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Year 2000

Tuberculosis (TB), “the world’s most neglected health crisis,” has returned after decades of decline, but has only gradually caught the attention of governments as a formidable threat to public health. By 1984, when TB cases hit an all-time low, federal and state governments stopped supporting the medical infrastructure that once served to contain the disease. State officials around the nation began dismantling laboratory research programs and closing TB clinics and sanitoria. Since 1985, however, TB rates have steadily increased to 26,673 reported cases in 1992, and some have estimated that by the year 2000, there could be a twenty percent increase. By 1993, Congress, realizing that TB could pose a major public health threat, allocated over $100 million to the Department of Health and Human Services for TB prevention and treatment programs. Those funds, however, were sorely needed years before and amounted to only a fraction of what public health officials believe necessary to control TB today.

Canada-US ties will see fewer irritants under Biden

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Keystone Xl ◽  
Keystone Xl Pipeline

Significance Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is preparing to welcome a more predictable and stable partner in Biden than outgoing Republican President Donald Trump. However, Biden is also expected quickly to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, cutting another lifeline to Canada’s oil industry and creating some strain in Canada-US ties. Impacts Improved Canada-US ties will persist even if Trudeau loses the next federal election to Conservative Erin O’Toole. Canada will re-engage militarily with UN peacekeeping and NATO deployments. Trudeau will encourage Biden to end US prosecution of Meng Wanzhou, allowing Canada to release her; Biden may agree. Canada’s border with the United States will open in stages as COVID-19 recedes. Ottawa will push Biden to end ‘Buy American’ procurement policies, with little success.

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