A source says:
Trump supporters are not authoritarians, but populists and then the article (by social scientists) explains the difference. Cruz’s supporters are authoritarians. Sanders supporters are more populists, but they are not patriotic. The authors conclude they are cosmopolitan socialists.
It is a revealing article because the media has whipped up such hostility to Trump. The L.A. Times declared him unfit to be president. Robert Reich and many others label him a fascist or a nazi. The Republican establishment has many times claimed that Trump’s views are antithetical to the views of Americans. It seems that all of Trump’s opponents want nothing more than for there to be violence at Trump rallies so that they can blame it on Trump. Even though a large group of yesterday’s protesters were shouting Bernie, both inside and outside the hall, Sanders has not stood up for Trump’s right to speak and Trump’s supporters to hear him, and that has not been condemned even though the same media and candidates would try to hold Trump responsible for the acts of his supporters.
It is incredibly disturbing to me that the actions of the anti Trump demonstrators have not been universally criticized by the media, by the other candidates (both Republican and Democrats) and by other politicians.
Washington Post March 9, 2016:
But in our research, we find no evidence that Trump supporters are any more “authoritarian” (at least by common measures) than those who like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) or even Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
Authoritarianism and populism are easy to conflate, but they actually refer to very distinct tendencies.
Authoritarianism, as understood by political psychologists, refers to a set of personality traits that seek order, clarity and stability. Authoritarians have little tolerance for deviance. They’re highly obedient to strong leaders. They scapegoat outsiders and demand conformity to traditional norms.
Populism, on the other hand, is a type of political rhetoric that casts a virtuous “people” against nefarious elites and strident outsiders. Scholars measure populism in a variety of ways, but we focus on three central elements:
Belief that a few elites have absconded with the rightful sovereignty of the people;
Deep mistrust of any group that claims expertise;
Strong nationalist identity
