The enduring appeal of Donald Trump to Republican voters has confounded the Republican establishment. Yet Trump understands Republican voters far better than the GOP elite does, in part because he recognizes where established leaders are out of touch with base voters.
In 2014, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, an independent, nonpartisan think tank, conducted a unique pair of surveys: one of average Americans and the other of foreign policy opinion leaders from government, think tanks, media organizations, academia and other interest groups. These surveys — which pre-date Trump’s candidacy but help us understand it — show that there are large divisions between the attitudes of self-described Republican opinion leaders and average Republicans on immigration, refugees, trade and jobs. CONT.
Dina Smeltz & Craig Kafura (Chicago Council on Global Affairs), The Monkey Cage