A professor who claims to be one of the few to have foreseen President Donald Trump would win the 2016 presidential election visited UF.
Christopher S. Parker, a University of Washington scholar, shared the research behind his prediction Thursday at Pugh Hall in front of an audience of about 45 people. The Bob Graham Center for Public Service hosted Parker.
Parker’s research focused on the reactions of predominantly white Trump supporters, as well as how people of color responded to his campaign. He collected data from the Voter Study Group, a group of nearly two dozen individuals who analyze the evolving views of American voters.
Parkers analyzed the motivations of Trump’s core voters and opposers. He found the fear of a changing America is what motivated people to vote for Trump.
“Fear, anger and anxiety,” Parker said. “That’s what gets people out.”
Parker discussed “The Great White Hope: Donald Trump, Race, and the Crisis of American Politics,” a forthcoming book he co-wrote. In the book, he said he emphasizes that the voting behavior for the 2016 election was influenced more by demographic anxiety than by economic anxiety.
“We argue that Trump’s rise was fueled by a sense of existential threat,” Parker said. “The belief that ‘real American’ culture is under siege. There’s a siege mentality.”
Lindsey Cazessus, the student outreach coordinator for the Bob Graham Center, said Parker’s talk helped open up the hard discussions people need to have about race and the future of politics.
“I think that the Bob Graham Center really strives to be that space to have conversations like that,” Cazessus said.
Christopher Weaver, a UF public policy and administration doctoral candidate, said before attending Parker’s talk, he believed there was a statistical significance in people voting for Trump based on economics and class. After hearing Parker’s research, Weaver realized economic anxiety was not a determining factor.
“His research showed me it was more about race,” the 31-year-old said, “and about a feeling of their country being taken away.”
Professor Christopher S. Parker shares his research on why President Donald Trump won the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
