… When politicians decry illegal immigration, they accomplish two things among Latinos, perhaps without intending to. First, they raise the importance of ethnicity relative to other forms of identity. That is, they make Latinos think of themselves as ethnics, rather than as working class, Catholic, Democrats, etc. Second, they smear […] Read more »
Trust in Judicial Branch Sinks to New Low of 53%
Americans’ trust in the judicial branch of the federal government has fallen significantly in the past year, and now a record-low 53% say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in it. Trust in the executive and legislative branches also remains near historical lows, but both […] Read more »
Do hate and racism drive support for Donald Trump?
Last night, debate viewers may have seen the end of the Summer of Trump, as the Donald floundered about the Reagan Library. I am not one of those who are inclined to read profundities into the Trump phenomenon. Many of his supporters don’t follow politics closely, and often seem to […] Read more »
Trust in Trump comes from lack of trust in government
If the polls leading up to the second GOP presidential debate indicate one thing, it is that confidence in the political system among Republicans has collapsed. Two candidates that possess no political experience at all—Donald Trump and Ben Carson—combine for over 50 percent of the vote in the most recent […] Read more »
Trust Me: We All Liked President Carter Then Too But …
… But, given his defeat in the 1980 presidential election after serving only one term, it is easy to forget that even while serving as president he was held in relatively high esteem by the public for his personal qualities. … The lesson, as I discussed in a previous post […] Read more »
Donald Trump Won’t Win A War Against Fox News
Donald Trump is a master at playing off the public’s distrust for the news media, portraying every negative story as a needless distraction from his quest to “Make America Great Again.” You’d think this strategy would become tiresome, but there’s a market for it, especially among Republicans, who are more […] Read more »