5 traits of Trump supporters

Trump supporters demonstrate an “extreme devotion and unwavering admiration for their highly unpredictable and often inflammatory leader” (Azarian). Psychologist Thomas Pettigrew has identified five psychological phenomena that help to explain their behavior.

1. Authoritarian Personality Syndrome.
People with this syndrome are submissive to authority, have a rigid hierarchical view of society, resist new experiences, and can display aggression toward people outside of their group. Because this syndrome can be triggered by fear, demagogues often exaggerate threats to gain their loyalty.

2. Social dominance orientation.
These are people who prefer a social structure in which the members of high-status groups have dominance over the members of low-status groups.

3. Prejudice.
While it would be unfair to say that all Trump supporters are racists, it is nevertheless accurate to say that self-identified racists are overwhelmingly Trump supporters.

4. Intergroup contact.
Contact with people from groups outside one’s own has been shown to reduce prejudice. White people who are geographically and socially isolated from people of other races and ethnicities tend to support Trump.

5. Relative deprivation.
This is the discontent felt by those who feel that other, inferior, people have unfairly had more success than they have. The deprivation is “relative” rather than “absolute” because it is based upon a sense of entitlement rather than on actual hardship.

How do these traits apply to Mormons?

1. Authoritarianism. The LDS Church has a hierarchical structure that claims priesthood authority from God. Members are expected to “sustain” these religious leaders. Thus, members are vulnerable to politicians who mimic church “authority.” But authority is not the same thing as authoritarian. Church leaders do not lead through fear. Unlike authoritarians, they encourage growth through new experiences and they teach church members to love everyone, including those outside of the group.

2. Social dominance. Latter-day Saints comprise over 60 percent of the residents of Utah. We have social dominance in the state out of sheer numbers. Non-Mormons in Utah have long complained that they are treated as second-class citizens. There is, no doubt, some validity to that claim. However, Church doctrine does not support the idea of one group feeling superior to another.

3. Racism. There are very few Black people in Utah. It is perhaps easier to have ignorant, stereotypical views about people with whom one seldom has contact. Nevertheless, LDS President Russell M. Nelson has cultivated close personal and political ties with the leaders of the NAACP, and at the most recent LDS General Conference he said, “God does not love one race more than another!”

4. Group isolation. In addition to the geographic isolation of many communities of Latter-day Saints in Utah, Arizona, and Idaho, Mormons isolate themselves socially. Just the simple fact that we do not drink alcohol dramatically changes, and limits, our social interactions with many other people. Yet we send our missionaries around the world. Many members of the Church speak more than one language. As members of a world-wide church, we should not be behaving in a narrow, provincial way.

5. Entitlement. Trump supporters often begrudge immigrants and the poor because they claim that the government takes better care of “those people” than they do of “us.” Whining, claiming things are “unfair,” and blaming others for our problems is childish. Such attitudes are unbecoming for people who claim to be “Saints.”

These Trump-supporting traits are not compatible with the restored Gospel

While it is easy to see why Latter-day Saints in the United States may be vulnerable to each of these traits, it is also clear that none of these traits are justified by the teachings and scriptures of the Church. As one outgrows and rejects authoritarianism, racism, feelings of superiority, and a sense of personal entitlement, one must also outgrow and reject Donald J. Trump.

As one interacts with a wider and more diverse group of people, one’s views become enlarged and it becomes more difficult to stereotype others. Latter-day Saints need to broaden their perspectives and learn to see through the lies, racism, and narcissistic self-entitlement that define Donald Trump. If we, as a people, were more Christ-like ourselves, we would be less vulnerable to the appeal of this anti-Christ.

With our all-inclusive doctrine, we can be an oasis of unity and celebrate diversity. Unity and diversity are not opposites. We can achieve greater unity as we foster an atmosphere of inclusion and respect for diversity.

Quentin L. Cook

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Sources: Bobby Azarian, PhD., “An Analysis of Trump Supporters Has Identified 5 Key Traits,” Psychology Today, December 31, 2017.
Thomas F. Pettigrew, “Social Psychological Perspectives on Trump Supporters,” Journal of Social and Political Psychology, Vol. 5, No. 1, (2017).
Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarians, 2006. (I highly recommend this free pdf book).
Brady McCombs, “Mormon President calls on members to help end racism,” Associated Press, Oct 4, 2020.
D. Stephen Long, “Should we call Donald Trump “antichrist”?,” ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Religion and Ethics, June 9, 2020.
Quentin L. Cook, “Hearts Knit in Righteousness and Unity,” Saturday Morning Session, General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, October 3, 2020.