As the Republican National Convention creeps ever-closer, the fear that is settling in the bottom of all our hearts about Trump’s presidency is more palpable than ever. Who exactly is making the Trump ticket seem more possible than we ever could have imagined? White, college-educated men. Twist!
In the New York Times, one writer explores why it could be that there are so many college-educated white men stumping for Trump. One reason, Howard Rosenthal, a political scientist at NYU theorizes, is because of redistribution of resources from white men to women and minorities. “The Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton are engaged in identity politics. And the redistribution is not win-win,” Rosenthal said. He continued, saying that “identity politics is a matter of social justice that has had limited economic benefits for white males throughout the income distribution.”
A recent Pew study from March 2016 found that “white non-Hispanic male college graduates support Trump over Hillary Clinton by 49 to 42 percent.” Progressive policies like affirmative action, Obamacare, and other social programs that have brought up previously disenfranchised people are making educated white men see Trump as a feasible option because at least he’ll defend the white man.
But of course, white men favor Trump not simply because they feel disenfranchised; they also hold biases toward women in powerful positions, have strong anti-immigration positions, and based on an ABC News poll from last month, 75 percent of them hold a negative attitude toward Hillary Clinton. College-educated white men: They contain multitudes.
