Donald Trump’s Effect on Who is Considered “Conservative”

• Author: Karyn Amira
• Published date: 01 September 2022
• Date: 01 September 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X221112395
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

American Politics Research

2022, Vol. 50(5) 682–693

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/1532673X221112395

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Donald Trump’s Effect on Who is Considered

“Conservative”

Karyn Amira

1



Abstract

Conservative intellectuals have expressed concern that Donald Trump has tarnished the conservative brand with his

authoritarian-populist rhetoric and style of governing. What exactly is Donald Trump’s effect on this ideological labe l? In this

paper I replicate work showing that members of Congress who have openly supported Trump are seen as more conservative

than those who do not openly support him. I then test this relationship experimentally and explore whether a pro (or anti)

Trump cue alone drives this perception or whether other perceived, unstated issue positions might in f‌luence this result. I f‌ind

that supporting Trump moves candidates rightward compared to a control group, and this effect is about twice as large as the

anti-Trump cue which moves candidates leftward. I also f‌ind that candidates who support Trump are more likely to be

associated with additional issue-related content, which could affect ideological perception. Roadmaps for extensions are also

discussed.

Keywords

ideology, conservatism, Donald Trump, candidate perception

Academics have spent a great deal of time analyzing political

ideology, but particularly conservatism, which holds a

privileged position in American life. Although philosophical

def‌initions of “liberalism”and “conservatism”tend to remain

static, journalistic def‌initions and the way these words are

perceived by the public are often reinventing themselves.

This can happen for many reasons, including the inf‌luence of

charismatic leaders. Donald Trump’s rise in American pol-

itics presents another potential moment for a charismatic

individual to change public perception of what “conserva-

tism”means and who is considered “conservative.”In this

paper, I experimentally manipulate whether f‌ictitious can-

didates generally support or oppose Donald Trump and test

whether this affects their perceived ideological location. I also

examine whether this “Trump effect”triggers inferences

about the candidates’unstated issue positions (ideological

content) that could drive the perception. I f‌ind that the pro-

Trump cue is stronger than the anti-Trump cue. I also con-

clude that more work is needed to untangle whether this result

is a simple reaction to cues about the Republican standard-

bearer or if supporting/opposing Trump is bundled together

with other unintended treatments such as inferences about

abortion and immigration.

Literature Review

Though there are many political belief systems, two tend to

dominate American ideological discourse: liberalism and

conservatism. In its philosophical def‌inition, “liberalism”is a

moral philosophy based on the principles of liberty and

consent of the governed. However, in its more recent jour-

nalistic understanding, it is a political philosophy that gov-

ernment intervention can help improve society, especially in

the economic realm. It is also connected to progressive

stances on social issues such as acceptance of gay marriage, a

woman’s right to choose, regulation of f‌irearms etc. Con-

servatism, though complex and historically diff‌icult to def‌ine

(Lee, 2014), is typically said to be a philosophy founded on

resistance to change and preservation of tradition and the

status quo. In its more recent journalistic form, it means

resistance to federal government intervention in the economy

and more power allocated to individual states.

1

It is also

associated with more orthodox positions on social issues such

as preservation of traditional family structures, the right to life

and 2

nd

amendment rights.

Conservatism-particularly its association with liberty and

freedom from an oppressive government-holds a privileged

place in American society (Iyengar et al., 2012); it is central to

America’s founding and decentralized government structure.

1

College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA

Corresponding Author:

Karyn Amira, Political Science, College of Charleston, 114 Wentworth St,

Political Science Department, Charleston, SC 29401, USA.

Email: amiraka@cofc.edu