The Securitarian Personality: What Really Motivates Trump’s Base and Why It Matters for the Post-Trump Era

Political scientist Hibbing (coauthor, Predisposed) analyzes the “inner workings” of President Trump’s most fervent supporters in this evenhanded psychological study. Drawing on focus groups, observations of Trump rallies, and an April 2019 national survey, Hibbing contends that “the central feature of Trump’s base is their belief that the noblest and most essential task of a human being is to protect person, family, culture, and country from the tangible threats they believe are posed by outsiders.” He sketches studies of authoritarianism by German philosopher Theodor Adorno and American psychologist Bob Altemeyer, arguing that Trump’s “securitarian” followers are less submissive and conventional than the prototypical authoritarian. Because securitarians “will never stop attending to outsider threats and strategizing how to mitigate those threats,” Hibbing writes, liberals are wrong to believe that data on immigrant crime rates, for instance, can change the minds of Trump loyalists (“the only thing that will change... is their perception of who is and is not an outsider”). Hibbing marshals a wealth of evidence to support his claims, though progressives will be frustrated by his light treatment of racist beliefs espoused by Trump’s stalwart supporters. Still, this is an insightful psychological profile of the voters Trump is counting on in 2020. (Sept.)