Other voters are not the enemy
We can't hold politicians accountable without each other.
I’m posting a bit early this week in honor of the inauguration today. It’s a good day to remember to that in order to hold our political leaders accountable in the coming days we will need to build bridges, create coalitions and focus on problem solving. Partisan polarization is a trap that makes any kind of democratic control impossible.
This piece originally appeared online at Real Clear Politics on December 04, 2024. I think it’s as true a month and a half later as I did then. The piece focuses on my liberal friends, but it’s just as true of the right (as you can see if you read the comments on the post, which I strongly recommend you do not).
One of my favorite writers, Musa Al-Gharbi, did an amazing analysis of the 2024 election that explodes a number of convenient narratives about the election that I discuss in much less depth below. It’s worth reading his piece in full, but only after you’ve read this one and shared it!
We face a crucial decision as President-elect Trump’s team takes shape and begins to govern: whether to view other Americans as enemies or as potential collaborators for good. It’s clear which way my liberal friends are leaning. My social media feed is full of references to Nazis, fascists, racists, homophobes, misogynists, and xenophobes. TikTok now monetizes liberal tears.
In a way, I’m sympathetic. I too see Donald Trump as a dangerous narcissist and a threat to democracy and international stability. As a political scientist, I have serious concerns about whether the norms that make liberal democracy possible can survive the next four years. But I’m also concerned about the assumptions my liberal friends are making about people who, according to the best polling available, are normal Americans, just like the rest of us. They’re neither outside the mainstream on most political issues, nor are they hostile to women, LGBTQIA Americans, or immigrants, as social media narratives claim.
Unfortunately for all of us, the references in my social feeds to Nazis and fascists are not just aimed at Trump; they’re aimed at the 51% of American voters who voted for Trump. Calling most Americans Nazis and fascists is not only inaccurate, but it is enormously dangerous for the disadvantaged populations liberals want to protect.
It’s true that many Trump voters hold incorrect understandings of the economy (high tariffs, for example, are economically devastating for middle-class Americans). Yet my Democratic friends also refuse to confront some deeply entrenched political myths and misunderstandings of their own.
Two of these myths pose serious dangers for vulnerable Americans over the next four years. The first is that all Trump voters act primarily based on bigoted beliefs and a desire to harm. And that relates to the second myth: that Democrats and Republicans live in two separate Americas, one of which supports a federal abortion ban and the forcible removal of all undocumented immigrants and condemns LGBTQIA Americans to violence and discrimination. The data clearly say otherwise.
Contrary to dark visions of a future Gilead, most Americans have centrist views on abortion. Pew Research polling finds 63% support safe access to abortion in all or almost all cases. Support for stringent bans is fading even in deep-red states, given stories of women dying after being denied necessary care and obstetricians fleeing states where they cannot practice medicine ethically. Almost 50% of Republicans support access to abortion in all or most cases.
As for immigration, while I often hear claims that xenophobic rage spurred Trump voters, polls fail to support the idea. While many Trump supporters do support mass deportations, many Harris supporters do too. Given the crisis at the border, support for immigration has dropped, but across party lines.
More importantly, a full 70% of Americans support allowing undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. The fact that Trump made headway among Latino voters is one indication that his voters’ views on immigration are complicated.
What about LGBTQIA, and specifically trans, rights? Most Americans are pretty centrist on this issue, too. Large majorities (over 75%) from all walks of life support relevant anti-discrimination laws. Sixty-four percent support specifically protecting trans Americans against violence and discrimination. Only 10% oppose such protections.
Disagreement tends to come on the margins and on highly polarizing issues like participation in women’s sports and access to gender-affirming care for minors (particularly without parental consent). Nothing in the polls suggests that most Americans are deeply transphobic or supportive of stripping fundamental rights.
Many of our differences come back to the theory that most Trump voters assume – maybe rightly – that his bombastic and extremist language is mostly bloviating. They held their nose and voted based on (incorrect) views about the economy and (somewhat more accurate) concerns about a broken immigration system.
The research does not dispel the idea that Americans feel deeply divided and increasingly see each other as dangerous. Political scientists often talk about the dangers of this affective polarization for liberal democracy, but there’s an even more immediate threat. Our mistaken perceptions of one another prevent us from building the coalitions to protect the populations who would be most vulnerable under an unrestrained Trump administration.
Liberals and other opponents of the next president do not need to support his policies. They do need to separate Trump voters from Trump himself. This is desperately important not only for the future of our political institutions, but to ensure the safety of reproductive rights, immigrants, and our LGBTQIA neighbors.
As always, let me know what you think! Leave a comment, subscribe, and share.