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Trump supporters desire power over other people, according to study

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Getty Images / Alex Wong / Staff

A groundbreaking new study has confirmed that Donald Trump supporters are, in fact, supporters of Trump and everything he stands for.

In other words, they seek power over others, have little interest in altruism and are motivated by wealth. Who knew?

Oh, everyone knew. Because – despite Trump dismissing journalists criticising him as "fake news", despite him mocking a disabled reporter, despite his apparent obsession with money, despite the countless scandals rocking his Presidency – these people still support Trump.

The online survey of 1,825 American adults also found that Trump supporters tended to agree with statements such as:

  • People who are poor just need to work harder
  • In life, winning is the only thing that matters
  • A company’s main focus should be profits
  • Art shows are boring
  • Dress codes are good and should be followed strictly

While they disagreed with statements such as:

  • Building relationships is more important than building profit
  • Happiness is more important than money
  • Protestors are the most patriotic citizens
  • Applying the scientific method is the best way to discover the truth

Ryne A Sherman, an associate professor at Texas Tech University and author of the story, told PsyPost:

This study demonstrated that shared values (i.e., values perceived to be shared with Donald Trump) were a key driver of support for Donald Trump during the primary.

This was true of both Republicans and Democrats, regardless of political ideology.

Those who felt more similar to Trump in terms of his values were more likely to support him.

This is a disturbing confirmation of what everyone knew anyway – but it's worth bearing in mind that there are some limitations to this study, as it was conducted by an online survey not necessarily representative of the US population.

HT PsyPost

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