Via Pacific Standard:
INSIDE THE MINDS OF HARDCORE TRUMP SUPPORTERS
New research finds the president's earliest and strongest followers embody a particularly belligerent strain of authoritarian thinking.
Note that this report by Tom Jacobs is from February 15, 2018. That’s before the pandemic. That’s before the economic collapse. That’s before impeachment. That’s before the BLM protests. That’s before all of the most recent atrocities, lies, and open threats.
But it still applies — even more so.
...Sociologist David Norman Smith cited both in a just-published paper, in which he argues hardcore Trump supporters "target minorities and women" and "favor domineering and intolerant leaders who are uninhibited about their biases."
And yet, there's something puzzling about that equation. If authoritarians, by definition, revere authority, why would they support an anti-establishment candidate like Trump? And why are they OK with his administration slandering bedrock American institutions as the Federal Bureau of Investigation?
A second recently published study provides an answer: There are different strains of authoritarian thinking. And support for Trump is associated with what is arguably the most toxic type: authoritarian aggression.
emphasis added
In case you need a quick primer on right wing authoritarianism, Sara Robinson’s two series at Orcinus are still the best way to get a handle on it. (“Cracks in the Wall”, and “Tunnels and Bridges”.) She’s building on the work of Bob Altemeyer and references Conservatives Without Conscience by John Dean. Part 1 of Cracks in the Wall by Robinson will give you the basics.
To return to Jacobs article:
...Authoritarianism in the Trump era "is not the wish to follow any and every authority but, rather, the wish to support a strong and determined authority who will 'crush evil and take us back to our true path,'" Smith and his co-author, Eric Hanley, conclude.
Participants in Ludeke's study also completed surveys measuring Social Dominance Orientation—the belief that one group has the right to dominate others. Replicating previous research, they found this philosophy, which often accompanies authoritarianism, correlated with support for Trump.
So the very things a majority of Americans find disconcerting, if not disqualifying, about Trump—his need to dominate, his thinly veiled white supremacism, and his blunt, bullying language—is precisely what appeals to his hardcore fans. They are very likely stand to by their man, whatever scandals might emerge.
emphasis added
These excerpts from a Facebook post from someone I know captures one of the ways they rationalize their aggression.
...Maybe God is trying to tell us something important--that now is not the time for a "nice Christian guy" or a "gentleman" or a typical Republican powder puff. Maybe now is the time for a natural born killer, a ruthless fighter, a warrior. Because right about now we need a miracle, or America is finished. Maybe the rules of gentlemen don't apply here. Maybe a gentleman and "all-around nice Christian" would lead us to slaughter.
...I guess you think God is only nice and gentlemanly. Really? Then you've missed the whole point of the Bible. When necessary, God is pretty tough. When necessary, God strikes with pain, death and destruction. When necessary, God inflicts vengeance.
...Maybe you think God couldn't possibly be associated with someone like Trump. Trump is too vicious, rude and crude.
When we won WWII, was God "nice?" Were we gentlemanly when defeating Hitler? Were we gentlemanly when firebombing Germany? Were we gentlemanly when dropping atomic bombs on Japan? Is God ever "nice" on the battlefield? Or does he send us vicious SOBs like General George S. Patton so the good guys can defeat evil?
It's pretty clear to me God sends unique people to be "war leaders." That's a different role than a pastor or church leader. God understands that.
(For the record, this person was, as far as I know, always conservative but still fairly rational until lately. He’s not the only one I’ve seen going full authoritarian. If you missed David Neiwert’s post about Red pillls and radicalization; New book explores how conspiracism is overwhelming us, take a look.)
In case you haven’t noticed, America has gotten to a very dangerous place. It’s encouraging that someone is picking up on Altemeyer’s research because we really need that now to make sense of what is happening. The warning signs have been there for a long time; the lights are blinking red and the sirens are going off.