Effects of Increasing Racial Diversity and Group Status Threat

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Prajesh Patel
Prof. Persson
Research in the Disciplines: Immigration
Research Project D1
March 15, 2020
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election: Examining effects of increasing
racial diversity and group status threat
Introduction
The 2016 presidential election victory of Donald Trump was a long time in the making.
The United States continues to experience major demographic and economic shifts. Minority
racial groups are projected to outnumber whites in the U.S. by 2042, threatening the high social
status that white Americans hold. Globalization and work automation have arguably lowered
blue-collar employment among working-class whites, weakening their economic position and
further diluting their white privileges that they’ve enjoyed since the foundation of the country.
The U.S. presidential election of 2016, was certainly historic, not just for the reason that Hillary
Clinton was the foremost female presidential applicant for a prominent political party,
nevertheless also due to the generally startling outcomes (Achen and Bartels). Considering the
U.S. presidential election of 2016, the majority of polls expected Hillary Clinton to win the
election over Trump. Rather, Trump turned out to be that winner of the the election with 304
Electoral College votes as compared to Clinton’s 227 votes. Following the largely unanticipated
outcome of the election, several narratives predominated the media as explanations for the
election results. Few were of the view that Clinton’s downfall was because of sexism toward

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females. Additionally, others have argued that the electoral election exhibited fundamental racist
sentiments within the United States. Additionally, a third resonating was the augmenting
nationalistic perspective within the U.S. made contribution towards Trump’s victory (Wilkins
and Kaiser).
Further, taking the above discussion into consideration this particular research paper
attempts to highlight the way how whites’ fear of losing high social ranking – a condition known
as group status threat – and their perceived diminishing ability to exercise their whiteness as the
major contributing factors that lead Trump to win the 2016 presidential election. Moreover, in
order to build the case comprehensively, the paper would first outline and define group status
threat, whiteness and then, the reason why they were important for Trump’s victory. Group status
threats essentially represent the fear and threat, which social group experiences at the time when
they feel their social standing is gradually moving far from them. After this, the paper would
exhibit four significant events during the recent American history that were responsible for
intensifying these conditions among white Americans, compelling them to vote for Trump who
they believed would protect their interests. Finally, the paper woulf analyze Trump’s campaign
approach, which proved as being resourceful in winning white votes throughout different socio-
economic scale and as a result, winning the US presidency.
Group status threat and whiteness
Group status threat signifies the fear that social group experience when they feel their
social ranking is slowly slipping away from them (Albertson and Gadarian). According to
Brenda Major, White Americans who strongly identify with their racial/ethnic identity are
experiencing group status threat as the racial composition of the country continues to shift

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towards a non-white majority. This discontentment, Major argues, led them to endorse
conservative, nationalist political positions, benefiting Trump who they felt offered the best hope
to protect their social status in the society.
Major conducted a social psychology study comprising 376 White Americans–262
Democrats and 114 Republicans. The findings demonstrated that whites with a strong sense of
ethnic identity feared losing social status in the society to other racial groups. This condition,
known as group status threat, led many to support Trump who adopted anti-immigrant and anti-
diversity rhetoric. The participants were randomly assigned to read one of two press releases.
One press release contained what Major called a “racial shift condition” which indicated that
racial minorities will outnumber whites in the U.S. by 2042; the other did not contain such
language. Whites high in ethnic identification reported greater group status threat, higher
likelihood of voting for Trump, and more accepting of anti-immigrant policies. Major assessed
that Trump’s strong opposition to “outsiders” such as Muslims and illegal immigrants from Latin
America appeared to gravitate White Americans high in racial/ethnic identification who were
concerned about their declining position in American society.
Whiteness is a privilege, resulting from prominent social status. Ta-Nehisi Coates
cryptically defines whiteness as "ancestral talisman" and that “bloody heirloom” which cannot
ensure mastery of all events but can conjure a tailwind for most of them. While past presidents
have invoked whiteness in more subtle ways, Trump exploited it the extreme, driving up the
numbers among White voters. Coates posits that Trump would not be president were it not for
his whiteness. While Trump’s predecessors used the power of whiteness passively, he made it an
explicit, central part of his identity. Coats highlights Trump’s disdain for Blacks, and a black
president, citing the birther issue he raised to suggest that President Obama was not born in the

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United States. A part of Trump’s dominance among white voters was a result of him running as a
Republican, the party that has historically catered to whites (Albertson and Gadarian). However,
Trump’s appeal was not restricted to working-class whites in economically depressed parts of the
country. Using data from a Gallup poll, Coates argues that Trump experienced favorable
reception across nearly every white demographic including those with higher economic means,
suggesting it is whiteness, more than other factors, that drove extensive support for Trump across
the nation.
Both Coates and Major agree on points. Major demonstrated that White Americans
feared of losing social status to other racial groups – a condition she calls group status threat.
Trump emerged as a major beneficiary from such condition as it made evident in Coates’
assessment about Trump’s blatant use of whiteness and denigrating minorities to make inroads
into White America. Furthermore, in her social phycology experiment, Major uncovered that
participants who were exposed to “racial shift condition” (indicating that racial minorities will
outnumber Whites by 2042) gravitated more toward Trump who they believed represented their
interests. This again is in sync with Coates’ portrayal as a defender of white maidenhood against
outside forces. Both authors seem to differ, however, on one point. Major separates Whites into
two groupings: Whites who strongly identify with their own racial/ethnic identity. And those
who do not. Major concluded that it is the former group that is most susceptible to experiencing
group status threat and therefore, voting for Trump. Coates, However, does not make such
distinction between Whites. In fact, he holds the notion of whiteness accountable for Trump’s
triumph at the 2016 presidential election.
Moving ahead, both Coates and Major asserted that losing the income or job between 2012 and
2016 didn’t make whites any more likely for supporting Trump. Neither did the simple opinion