IU political science professor says anger drives US political campaigns

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — After the attempted assassination of former President Trump, both democrats and republicans alike are asking for calmness in the nation. However, a political science expert said anger is the fuel that drives political campaigns.

Anger in politics can be in the form of you not liking a particular candidate, but campaigns are betting they can make you really dislike the other candidate.

In the seconds after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump Saturday, he raised his fist to the crowd, yelling "Fight, fight, fight."

“Certainly compared to eight years ago voters are more angry now, I think voters were angry in 2020 as well I think what is interesting about this election is that the anger is from different sources depending on whether you are a democrat or republican,” Steven Webster, assistant professor of political science at Indiana University Bloomington, said.

“Politicians have sought to make us angry and that is because anger works in political campaigns,” Webster, who is also the author of American Rage: How anger shapes our politics, said.

Webster said political anger for Democrats is the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House. For Republicans, it is inflation and immigration into the country. But this year, both President Biden and former President Trump have factions within their parties that are unhappy.

“And so this idea that I may not like my parties candidate matters even less than whether I dislike the other parties, so what we see is anger and dislike motivates people more than bonds of affection," said Webster.

Webster said that anger has driven campaigns and voters for decades, because it works. Webster said it is unlikely we will see a turnaround anytime soon, but that anger will lead to violence.

“That most polls about support for violence in this country are quite low so I generally don't think we are going to see people out on the street fighting, but that being said it is the case that the people who commit acts of violence are generally angry,” said Webster.

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