Introduction
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s 2020 electoral loss, one key question is what kind of future the unique style of politics he carved out has in the Republican Party. Colloquially, this question is often put this way: What becomes of Trumpism after Trump?
To answer that question, it is important to look at the forces that played a role in preparing the ground for a politician like Trump, who supported him during his presidency, and who is likely to be a significant cultural force even after Trump leaves office. No other platform has served to support the president as strongly as Fox News. For decades, the network has played a prominent role in structuring American conservatism and Republican partisan politics. Over the last four years, President Trump in particular has used it as his personal platform, appearing on air dozens of times during his presidency. And Fox News is poised to be the cultural force that preserves and transmits the worldview of Trumpism into America’s future.
Among television news sources, Fox News holds outsize influence, particularly among Republicans. Currently, 15% of Americans cite Fox News as the television news source they trust the most to provide accurate information about politics and current events, which is roughly equal to the combined influence of broadcast networks like NBC, ABC, and CBS (16%), and larger than that of local television news (12%) and CNN (11%). Fox News is by far the most trusted outlet among Republicans (40%), with the next most trusted source, local news, trailing distantly (14%). Just eight percent of independents and four percent of Democrats most trust Fox News. Among religious groups, Fox News is most trusted by white evangelical Protestants (36%), by nearly twice the proportion of all other religious groups.
The dominance of Fox News among Republicans is also unique: there is no equivalent dominant news source among Democrats or independents. The most trusted news sources among independents are broadcast news networks (18%), public television (12%), and local news (11%). Among Democrats, the most trusted outlets are broadcast networks (21%), CNN (20%), and public television (13%).
Who Are Fox News Republicans?
Fox News Republicans are the 40% of Republicans who trust Fox News most among television news sources. Compared to the nation as a whole, Fox News Republicans are whiter (81% vs. 63% for all Americans), more likely to be male (57% vs. 48% of all Americans), and older (32% are over age 65 vs. 21% of all Americans). Fox News Republicans are more likely than all Americans to identify as white evangelical Protestants (36% vs. 13%), much less likely to identify as religiously unaffiliated (5% vs. 25%), and more likely to say they attend religious services at least once a week (46% vs. 27%).
Fox News Republicans are also distinct from the other 60% of Republicans in several ways. Fox News Republicans are more likely than non–Fox News Republicans to identify as politically conservative (77% vs. 59% of non–Fox News Republicans) and are older (32% are over age 65, vs. 20% of non–Fox News Republicans). Fox News Republicans are more likely than non-–Fox News Republicans to identify as white evangelical Protestants (36% vs. 26%) and to attend religious services at least once a week (46% vs. 35%), and are less likely to identify as religiously unaffiliated (5% vs. 15%).
There are also some key economic differences between all Americans, Fox News Republicans, and non–Fox News Republicans. Fox News Republicans (29%) are about as likely as all Americans (34%) and non–Fox News Republicans (32%) to have a college degree. However, Fox News Republicans (56%) are more likely than non–Fox News Republicans (46%) and all Americans (45%) to consider themselves middle-class.
Extreme Polarization in Views of Political Figures
Fox News Republicans are remarkably unified in their views of elected leaders. Fox News Republicans are almost unanimous in their favorable views of President Trump, with 98% who rate him very or mostly favorably, including a majority (59%) who rate him very favorably. Just one percent rate him unfavorably. Non–Fox News Republicans are significantly less likely to view the president favorably, although the vast majority still hold favorable views (75%). Fox News Republicans are nearly twice as likely as non–Fox News Republicans to say they have a very favorable view of Trump (59% vs. 32%). Among all Americans, only 36% report favorable views of the president.
In addition, nearly all Fox News Republicans (96%) view Vice President Mike Pence favorably, including 67% who rate him very favorably. That drops to 65% with favorable views among non–Fox News Republicans. Just 36% of all Americans rate Pence favorably.
Fox News Republicans are less likely to rate Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) favorably. Around seven in ten Fox News Republicans (69%) rate McConnell favorably, compared to 31% of non–Fox News Republicans and 21% of all Americans. Fox News Republicans are much less likely to say they have not heard of McConnell (11%) than all Americans (23%) or non–Fox News Republicans (29%).
Fox News Republicans have overwhelmingly negative views of most Democratic political figures. More than nine in ten Fox News Republicans (94%) express unfavorable views of former President Barack Obama, including nearly two-thirds who rate him very unfavorably (65%). In comparison, just 35% of all Americans and 68% of non–Fox News Republicans report unfavorable views of Obama.
Similarly, Fox News Republicans are nearly universal in their views of Democratic President-elect Joe Biden. Nearly all Fox News Republicans rate Biden unfavorably (97%), including more than eight in ten who rate him very unfavorably (84%). Non–Fox News Republicans also have overwhelmingly negative views of Biden, with 83% who rate him unfavorably; however, their views are less intense, with 62% who rate him very unfavorably. Fox News Republicans are about twice as likely as all Americans to rate Biden unfavorably (49%).
A similar share of Fox News Republicans report unfavorable views of 2020 Democratic Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (93%). This is significantly higher than the share of non–Fox News Republicans (70%), and more than double the share of all Americans who rate her unfavorably (41%).
Fox News Republicans hold nearly universal unfavorable views of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (98%). Astonishingly, 97% of Fox News Republicans say they have a very unfavorable view of her. Around nine in ten non–Fox News Republicans rate Pelosi unfavorably (88%), but fewer have a very unfavorable view of her (70%). A majority of all Americans (55%) rate Pelosi unfavorably.
Trump’s Most Loyal Foot Soldiers
In addition to their overwhelmingly favorable ratings of Trump, Fox News Republicans overwhelmingly approve of Trump’s performance on a variety of issues. Nearly all Fox News Republicans approve of the job Trump is doing as president (97%), including 82% who say they strongly approve. Non–Fox News Republicans are somewhat softer in their assessments of Trump’s job performance, with 78% saying they approve, including 42% who strongly approve. By contrast, just 40% of all Americans approve of Trump’s job performance. Among Fox News Republicans who approve of Trump’s job performance, nearly six in ten say there is almost nothing he could do to lose their approval (58%), compared to 42% of non–Fox News Republicans and 37% of all Americans who approve of his job performance.
Fox News Republicans give similarly positive ratings to Trump’s handling of the economy. Nearly all Fox News Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy (98%), including 86% who strongly approve. Around eight in ten non–Fox News Republicans approve (84%), though the share of non–Fox News Republicans who strongly approve is much smaller (53%). Half of all Americans (50%) approve of Trump’s handling of the economy.
When it comes to the topics of dealing with the protests following the recent killings of Black Americans by police and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News Republicans are somewhat less intense in their approval of Trump. This group still overwhelmingly approves of the job Trump is doing on both fronts (93% for dealing with racial justice protests, 94% for dealing with the pandemic), but the share who strongly approve is smaller than the share who strongly approve overall or who strongly approve of Trump’s handling of the economy (55% for dealing with racial justice protests, 59% for dealing with the pandemic).
Non–Fox News Republicans largely approve of the job Trump is doing on the economy (84%) and as president more broadly (78%), but they are more divided in their approval of his handling of racial justice protests (68%) and the coronavirus pandemic (67%). Non–Fox News Republicans are less intense in their views. A slim majority strongly approve of the job Trump is doing dealing with the economy (53%), though less than half strongly approve of the job he’s doing as president (42%), and less than three in ten say the same for how he is handling the coronavirus pandemic (29%) and racial justice protests (28%).
Fox News Republicans are completely unified in their electoral support for Trump: among registered voters, 100% of this group report that they will support Trump in the election over Biden, compared to 86% of non–Fox News Republicans and 42% of all Americans. Fox News Republican Trump voters overwhelmingly say that their vote is more of a vote for Trump (89%) than it is a vote against Biden (11%). Non–Fox News Republicans voting for Trump are about as likely as all Trump voters to say their vote is a vote for Trump (69% vs. 67%, respectively).
Fox News Republicans are much more likely than non–Fox News Republicans to hold positive views of Trump’s religious faith. Seven in ten Fox News Republicans (71%), compared to half as many non–Fox News Republicans (36%) and 21% of all Americans, say Trump models religious values with his actions and leadership. Fox News Republicans (64%) are also twice as likely as non–Fox News Republicans (32%) to say that Trump has strong religious beliefs (18% of all Americans).
Issue Priorities
Fox News Republicans’ issue priorities are strikingly different from those of other Americans. Two-thirds of Fox News Republicans say crime (67%) and terrorism (66%) are critical issues, compared to less than half of all Americans who rank these issues as critical (46% and 45%, respectively).
The only issue that majorities of Fox News Republicans (72%) and all Americans (57%) agree is critical is the fairness of presidential elections. However, given the Trump campaign’s consistent unverified claims of widespread electoral fraud, Fox News Republicans likely have divergent views of what “fairness” means in an electoral context.
Just one-third of Fox News Republicans (32%) consider the coronavirus pandemic a critical issue, compared to six in ten Americans (60%) and 44% of non–Fox News Republicans. The largest gaps on critical issues between Fox News Republicans and all Americans are on climate change (6% of Fox News Republicans, 43% of all Americans) and the growing gap between the rich and the poor (10% of Fox News Republicans, 42% of all Americans).
Racial Justice and Systemic Racism
Police Reform and Protests
Fox News Republicans are at odds with most Americans on racial justice issues. Nine in ten Fox News Republicans (90%) say that the recent killings of Black Americans by police are isolated incidents, while nine percent say they are part of a broader problem. Around seven in ten non–Fox News Republicans (72%) say they are isolated incidents. By contrast, less than half of all Americans (43%) say that the killings of Black Americans by police are isolated incidents, compared to 56% who say they are part of a pattern of how police treat African Americans.
More than nine in ten Fox News Republicans (91%) are opposed to the goals of the Black Lives Matter movement, including three in four who are strongly opposed (74%). Fewer, but still more than seven in ten, non–Fox News Republicans (72%) oppose the Black Lives Matter movement’s goals. This puts them at odds with all Americans, among whom only four in ten are opposed (41%).
More than six in ten Fox News Republicans (63%) believe that people who say they want to “defund the police” mean that they want to eliminate police departments completely, compared to 36% who say the movement’s goals are more about redirecting some police funding to social services. Additionally, Fox News Republicans overwhelmingly oppose the goals of calls to “defund the police” (97%), including nine in ten who are strongly opposed (91%). Non–Fox News Republicans are less likely to say that “defund the police” means eliminating police departments completely (46%), but only slightly less likely to oppose the movement’s goals (87%). Only a little more than one in four Americans say that “defund the police” means eliminating departments (28%), and 62% oppose the movement’s goals.
Impact of Perceptions of Racial Identity of Protesters
The PRRI 2020 American Values Survey contained an embedded experiment to evaluate how the race of protesters influenced Americans’ perceptions of the protests themselves. PRRI divided the sample into two demographically identical subsamples and gave each subsample a nearly identical question, differing only by the fact that one question specified the race of the protesters while the other did not. This experiment found significant differences in opinions on these statements among whites overall, particularly among majority-white subgroups such as Republicans.
Americans are more likely to agree (61%) than disagree (37%) with the statement “When Americans speak up and protest unfair treatment by the government, it always makes our country better.” However, Americans are less likely to agree (52%) and more likely to disagree (47%) with the statement “When Black Americans speak up and protest unfair treatment by the government, it always makes our country better.”
Fox News Republicans are 37 percentage points more likely to agree that protests make the country better when the statement does not mention Black Americans (47%) than they are when the protesters are specified as Black Americans (10%). Among non–Fox News Republicans, this effect remains, but at roughly half the proportion (19 percentage points): 51% favor the statement when it does not mention Black Americans, compared to 32% who favor the statement when the protesters are identified as Black Americans. Notably, there is no attitude gap among Democrats; Democrats are equally likely to agree with both statements (71% agree with both versions of the statements).
Confederate Symbols
Fox News Republicans are more likely than all Americans and non–Fox News Republicans to say that Confederate symbols are more symbols of Southern pride than symbols of racism. More than nine in ten Fox News Republicans believe that both Confederate flags (92%) and monuments to Confederate soldiers (94%) are symbols of Southern pride. Non–Fox News Republicans are only somewhat less likely to say the same about flags and monuments (81% and 87%, respectively). All Americans are much more divided, with 47% who say the flag is a symbol of Southern pride and 59% who say the same of Confederate monuments.
Discrimination and Affirmative Action
Fox News Republicans are more likely to say that Christians and white people, rather than racial and ethnic minorities, face a lot of discrimination in the U.S. today. More than seven in ten Fox News Republicans (73%) say that there is a lot of discrimination against Christians, and 58% say the same about white people. Around one-third or less say that Black people (36%), Hispanic people (34%), or Asian people (27%) face a lot of discrimination.
Smaller majorities of non–Fox News Republicans say that white people (56%) and Christians (54%) face discrimination, while majorities of this group say the same about Black people (62%) and Hispanic people (53%). Less than half of non–Fox News Republicans say the same about Asian people (43%).
Majorities of all Americans say that Black people (75%), Hispanic people (69%), and Asian people (55%) face a lot of discrimination. Significantly smaller shares of Americans say that white people (32%) and Christians (37%) face a lot of discrimination.
Fox News Republicans are adamantly opposed to affirmative action programs for people of color, whether they are applying for jobs (93% opposed) or applying to college programs (82% opposed). Again, these views are at odds with those of all Americans, among whom less than half oppose affirmative action in hiring (47%) or oppose affirmative action in college admissions (46%). Non–Fox News Republicans oppose affirmative action for hiring (66%) and college admissions (76%) to a lesser degree than Fox News Republicans.
The Impact of Trump’s Speech and Behavior on Violence in Society and White Supremacist Groups
Only 27% of Fox News Republicans say they wish President Trump’s speech and behavior were more consistent with those of previous presidents, compared to 59% of non–Fox News Republicans and 68% of the country. Fox News Republicans (30%) are significantly less likely than all Americans (51%) to say that harsh and violent language in politics contributes “a lot” to violent actions in society. In this case, a similar share of non–Fox News Republicans (31%) agree.
While nearly six in ten Americans (57%) believe that President Trump’s decisions and behavior have encouraged white supremacist groups, only three percent of Fox News Republicans agree. Most Fox News Republicans say that President Trump’s decisions and behavior have not had an impact on white supremacists (84%), while 11% say he has discouraged white supremacists. Around three in ten non–Fox News Republicans (28%) say he has encouraged white supremacist groups.
Attitudes About the Coronavirus Pandemic
Only one-third of Fox News Republicans consider the coronavirus pandemic a critical issue (32%), compared to 44% of non–Fox News Republicans and 60% of all Americans. Just one in five Fox News Republicans (22%) say that the size of the coronavirus outbreak could have been controlled better, while 77% say an outbreak of this size was inevitable. Non–Fox News Republicans (51%) and all Americans (69%) are much more likely to say the outbreak could have been controlled better.
Fox News Republicans are also more likely to buy into coronavirus conspiracy theories. Eight in ten say that the coronavirus was developed intentionally in a lab (81%), while less than one in five say it developed naturally (17%). Two-thirds of non-Fox News Republicans (64%) also believe the coronavirus was developed in a lab. Americans overall are evenly divided (50% say it was lab-made, 49% say it developed naturally).
Among seven possible sources, President Trump is the only one whom a majority of Fox News Republicans believe provides accurate information and advice about the coronavirus pandemic. A majority of Fox News Republicans (58%) say they place a lot of trust in Trump to provide accurate information and advice about the pandemic. Notably, only 26% of non–Fox News Republicans and 14% of all Americans trust Trump. Around one-third of Fox News Republicans trust the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (36%) or university research centers (32%), a much smaller share than among Americans as a whole (48% and 51%, respectively) and slightly smaller than among non–Fox News Republicans (42% and 40%, respectively). Fox News Republicans are even less likely to trust state and local health organizations (15%, compared to 40% of all Americans and 31% of non–Fox News Republicans), state and local governments (10%, compared to 24% of all Americans and 19% of non–Fox News Republicans), or the World Health Organization (WHO) (9%, compared to 42% of all Americans and 26% of non-Fox News Republicans). No Fox News Republicans (0%) report a lot of trust in Joe Biden to provide accurate information or advice. Strikingly, among non–Fox News Republicans, there is no source of pandemic information in which a majority places a lot of trust.
Fox News Republicans are roughly divided about whether shutdowns, mask mandates, and other actions taken by state and local governments to slow the spread of the coronavirus are reasonable attempts to protect people or unreasonable attempts to control people (48% vs. 51%). Majorities of non–Fox News Republicans and all Americans believe these restrictions are reasonable attempts to protect people (62% and 76%, respectively). Despite their opposition to shutdowns and mask mandates, more than six in ten Fox News Republicans (63%) say they always wear masks in public places, similar to the share of non–Fox News Republicans (65%), but lower than that of Americans overall (78%).
Just three in ten Fox News Republicans (30%), compared to 51% of non–Fox News Republicans and 69% of all Americans, agree that Trump and people in his administration contracted the coronavirus because they behaved irresponsibly. One-third of Fox News Republicans (33%) say that Trump’s experience with the virus will make him more likely to encourage people to wear masks, compared to just 14% of non–Fox News Republicans and 13% of all Americans.
Discomfort With a Changing Culture
Consistent with their other views on discrimination, more than eight in ten Fox News Republicans (83%) agree with the statement that “discrimination against white Americans has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities.” Two-thirds of non-Fox News Republicans (66%) agree with the statement, compared to just 42% of all Americans.
Two-thirds of Fox News Republicans (66%), compared to a majority of non–Fox News Republicans (60%) and four in ten Americans (39%), agree with the statement that “society as a whole has become too soft and feminine” . A similar share of both Fox News Republicans (70%) and non–Fox News Republicans (52%) agree with the statement “These days, society seems to punish men just for acting like men.” All Americans are much less likely to agree (38%).
Compared to other Americans, Fox News Republicans place a much greater emphasis on the connection between religion and morality. Fox News Republicans (60%) are much more likely than non–Fox News Republicans (47%) and all Americans (39%) to agree with the statement “It is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.”
Attitudes Toward Immigrants: Fears of Economic and Cultural Threats
The vast majority of Americans say immigrants are hardworking (86%) and have strong family values (83%), as do the majority of both Fox News Republicans (79% and 75%, respectively) and non–Fox News Republicans (79% and 76%, respectively). However, less than three in ten Fox News Republicans (28%), compared to 46% of non–Fox News Republicans and 56% of all Americans, believe immigrants make an effort to learn English.
Fox News Republicans are much more likely than non–Fox News Republicans and Americans overall to hold negative views of immigrants. More than seven in ten Fox News Republicans (72%), compared to 60% of non–Fox News Republicans and 55% of all Americans, believe that immigrants compete with hardworking Americans for jobs. More than eight in ten Fox News Republicans (84%) say that immigrants burden local communities by using more than their share of social services, while fewer non–Fox News Republicans (64%) and all Americans (48%) agree.
Three in four Fox News Republicans (75%) agree that immigrants “increase crime in local communities,” compared to significantly fewer non–Fox News Republicans (56%) and all Americans (38%). Two-thirds of Fox News Republicans (67%), compared to a slim majority of non–Fox News Republicans (51%) and about one-third of all Americans (31%), agree that “immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background.”
Attitudes Toward Immigration Policies
About two-thirds of Americans favor allowing immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children, known as Dreamers, to gain legal resident status (66%); there are no statistically significant differences in support for allowing Dreamers to gain legal resident status between Fox News Republicans and non–Fox News Republicans (41% vs. 46%). Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) also say immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be allowed a way to become citizens, compared to a slim majority of non–Fox News Republicans (51%) but only 42% of Fox News Republicans.
Nearly all Fox News Republicans (96%) support building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, while non–Fox News Republicans (78%) and all Americans (42%) are less likely to support a border wall.
Fox News Republicans (66%) and non–Fox News Republicans (58%) are similarly likely to support the passage of a law that would prevent refugees from entering the country, compared to 36% of Americans.
A policy of separating immigrant children from their parents and charging the parents as criminals when they enter the country without permission has been one of the most criticized and controversial immigration policies of the Trump administration. A slim majority of Fox News Republicans (53%) support the child separation policy. Non–Fox News Republicans (41%) are less likely to support the policy, as are less than one in four Americans (23%).
Hawkish Views of China
Fox News Republicans are hawkish in their views of China. A majority of Fox News Republicans (52%) consider China an enemy (compared to 33% of all Americans and 33% of non–Fox News Republicans), 30% consider China unfriendly but not an enemy (41% of all Americans and 35% of non–Fox News Republicans), 15% consider China-friendly but not an ally (21% of all Americans and 26% of non–Fox News Republicans), and just one percent of Fox News Republicans consider China an ally (4% of all Americans and 5% of non–Fox News Republicans).
More than eight in ten Fox News Republicans (81%), compared to 78% of non–Fox News Republicans and 63% of all Americans, agree that “China is threatening our economy by taking manufacturing jobs away from the U.S.”
Divides Over Taxes
The revelations about Trump paying very little in federal income taxes appear not to have had a major effect on Fox News Republicans and are even a positive revelation for some of them. While eight in ten Fox News Republicans (81%) say the revelations make no difference in whether they support Trump, 16% say it makes them more likely to support him, compared to only three percent who say it makes them less likely to support him. Non–Fox News Republicans are less likely to say it makes no difference (65%), and nearly three times as many say it makes them less likely rather than more likely to support him (25% vs. 9%). All Americans are more divided: 48% say it makes them less likely to support him, 44% say it makes no difference, and just six percent say it makes them more likely to support him.
Just one in ten Fox News Republicans (11%), compared to 60% of all Americans and 32% of non–Fox News Republicans, say Trump has used the tax system in an unethical way to get out of paying his fair share of income taxes.
Fox News Republicans are less likely than other Republicans to support higher taxes on wealthy Americans. Less than three in ten Fox News Republicans (28%) favor raising the tax rate for Americans earning more than $250,000 per year. More than six in ten non–Fox News Republicans (61%) and two-thirds of all Americans (66%) support a tax increase on wealthy Americans.
There are also divides between Fox News Republicans and non–Fox News Republicans on requiring presidential candidates to reveal their tax returns. Around four in ten Fox News Republicans (39%), compared to 52% of non–Fox News Republicans and 72% of all Americans, favor requiring presidential candidates to make their income tax returns public.
Survey Methodology
The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI. The survey was made possible by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with additional support from the Ford Foundation, the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, and the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. Interviews were conducted among a random sample of 2,538 adults (ages 18 and older) living in the United States, including all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Interviews were conducted both online using a self-administered design and by telephone using live interviewers. All interviews were conducted among participants in AmeriSpeak, a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the national U.S. adult population, run by NORC at the University of Chicago. Interviewing was conducted in both Spanish and English between Sept. 9 and Sept. 22, 2020. The margin of error, including the design effect, for the survey is +/- 2.6 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence.
A supplemental survey of 1,070 adults using the same methodology was conducted Oct. 9–12, 2020, to assess likely turnout, presidential candidate choice, and motivation for voting (for/against the candidate). The margin of error, including the design effect, for that survey is +/- 4.0 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence.
