Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

The only people who feel Trump respects them are the ones who voted for him

White people, men, and Republicans say Trump respects people like them. Others, not so much.

President Donald Trump walks away from an event honoring the 2017 NCAA Football National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide, at the White House, on April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. 
President Donald Trump walks away from an event honoring the 2017 NCAA Football National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide, at the White House, on April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. 
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Emily Stewart
Emily Stewart covered business and economics for Vox and wrote the newsletter The Big Squeeze, examining the ways ordinary people are being squeezed under capitalism. Before joining Vox, she worked for TheStreet.

White people, men, and Republicans believe President Donald Trump has respect for people like them. Everybody else, not so much, according to a new poll.

New data from the Pew Research Center released on Wednesday found that 46 percent of Americans believe Trump has a fair or great deal of respect for people like them, while the majority — 52 percent — think he has little or none at all.

But when broken down by items such as race, gender, age, religion, and political beliefs, stark contrasts emerge about who does — and doesn’t — think Trump values them.

The people who think Trump respects “people like them” include white people (55 percent), men (51 percent), and white Protestants and evangelicals.

Men — especially young men between the ages of 18 and 49 — say Trump respects them, compared to just 35 percent of women in the same age range.

Just 31 percent of Hispanics and 18 percent of black people say Trump respects them.

Interestingly, a small majority of men and women over 50 feel Trump doesn’t respect them or has little respect for them. Broadly across all age ranges, more Americans feel Trump doesn’t respect them than do, by a slim margin.

Pew Research Center

Unsurprisingly, there’s a pretty significant partisan split — 82 percent of Republicans say Trump respects people like them, including 86 percent of conservatives and 76 percent of moderates. Among Democrats, just 18 percent think Trump respects people like them, while 79 percent says he does not.

Given Trump’s long history of insulting women and nonwhite people, and his attitude toward Democrats and the media, the results might not be surprising — but they demonstrate the messages that different groups have taken away from his presidency.

See More:

More in Politics

Podcasts
What to know about the Israel-Lebanon conflictWhat to know about the Israel-Lebanon conflict
Podcast
Podcasts

A journalist explains what it’s like in Lebanon right now.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Today, Explained newsletter
Trump’s bungled Iran negotiations didn’t have to go this wayTrump’s bungled Iran negotiations didn’t have to go this way
Today, Explained newsletter

Wendy Sherman helped Obama reach a deal with Iran. She sees several areas where Trump is going wrong.

By Caitlin Dewey
The Logoff
Trump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictionsTrump’s DOJ wants to undo January 6 convictions
The Logoff

How the Trump administration is still trying to rewrite January 6 history.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Donald Trump messed with the wrong popeDonald Trump messed with the wrong pope
Politics

Trump fought with Pope Francis before. He’s finding Pope Leo XIV to be a tougher foil.

By Christian Paz
Podcasts
A cautionary tale about tax cutsA cautionary tale about tax cuts
Podcast
Podcasts

California cut property taxes in the 1970s. It didn’t go so well.

By Miles Bryan and Noel King
Podcasts
Obama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwupsObama’s top Iran negotiator on Trump’s screwups
Podcast
Podcasts

Wendy Sherman helped Obama reach a deal with Iran. Here’s what she thinks Trump is doing wrong.

By Kelli Wessinger and Noel King