A Plurality Of Republicans Have Psychological Authoritarian Personality Disorders
Polling shows that most Americans do not support Trump’s idea of rounding up undocumented workers and putting them in camps. Just 26% of voters agree with that… although nearly half of Republicans agree. PRRI reported that “Republican voters and voters who score high on the authoritarianism scale are the most likely to agree that the U.S. military should put undocumented immigrants into internment camps until they can be deported… American voters who hold highly authoritarian views are six times as likely to agree with placing undocumented immigrants into such camps until they can be deported than American voters who largely reject authoritarianism (48% v. 8%).”
Authoritarian Personality Theory, which we’ve looked at in the past, was originally developed by sociologist Theodor Adorno after World War II, describes individuals who exhibit a tendency to respect and follow strong leaders or authority figures; a preference for traditional values and norms; hostility toward those perceived as outsiders or threats to societal order. People with authoritarian tendencies are more likely to perceive outsiders, such as undocumented immigrants, as dangerous or destabilizing. This fear triggers a need for order, control, and security, leading them to support harsh policies to maintain social stability— even if those policies violate democratic norms.
Similarly, Social Dominance Orientation, which measures an individual’s preference for hierarchical social structures, show us that people with high SDO believe in group-based dominance, where certain groups are inherently superior to others. They are far more likely to support discriminatory policies that maintain existing social hierarchies. For such individuals, deportation camps may feel justified as a means of reinforcing boundaries between “us” (the dominant group) and “them” (outsiders). People derive part of their self-esteem from group membership. When their group identity feels threatened— perhaps by demographic shifts or immigration— they are more likely to solidify group boundaries and demonize outgroups to reaffirm their group’s superiority and security.
Look, I only took 2 semesters of psychology in college, but even I remember that studies have long shown that fear increases support for authoritarian measures. When people feel insecure— whether economically, socially, or culturally— they may overestimate threats posed by marginalized groups. This threat perception activates the amygdala, a part of the brain associated with fear responses, pushing individuals toward policies that emphasize control and punishment.
One more thing— more sociology than psychology: support for harsh measures may involve moral disengagement, where people justify harm to others by dehumanizing them or framing the actions as necessary for the greater good. Labeling undocumented immigrants as “illegals” can make it psychologically easier to treat them as less deserving of empathy or rights. In light of the DOGE v MAGA conflict over H-1b visas for the last week, we have to wonder who the MAGAts see as immigrants worthy of being deported. Musk, a multi-millionaire South African who is— or at least was— in the country by guile or Vivek Ramaswamy, who was born here but might be considered an “anchor baby” by that 48%.
Team DOGE won the H-1b battle. Not one has been heard a peep out of Bannon or Loomer since Trump ruled in Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s favor. That’s what you can buy when you spend nearly $300 million on fixing an election. Yesterday, Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan and Ryan Mac looked into how Musk has taken over a president-elect who obeys whomever has the last word. And these days, Musk is the last person in the room. Musk, they wrote, is Señor T’s “most important donor, most influential social media promoter and a key adviser on policy and personnel. For most of the time since Election Day, he has also been Trump’s tenant.” They never mention that Musk bought veto power over the presidency— just that “Musk has been using one of the cottages available for rent on Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago… Staying right on the grounds has helped provide Musk with easy access to Trump… [He] has attended personnel meetings in the Mar-a-Lago Teahouse, sat in on phone calls with foreign leaders and spent hours with Trump in his office. Musk’s employees from his various businesses have also been integrally involved in the transition, vetting prospective candidates for senior administration jobs, in interviews at the Trump transition headquarters in West Palm Beach.
Musk moved into the cottage around Election Day and watched the returns at Mar-a-Lago with Trump. He left the property around Christmas and has been expected to return in the coming days.
…On Friday, in a post on Truth Social that seemed intended as a private communication to Musk, Trump wrote: “Where are you? When are you coming to the ‘Center of the Universe,’ Mar-a-Lago. Bill Gates asked to come, tonight. We miss you and x! New Year’s Eve is going to be AMAZING!!! DJT.”
Some of Trump’s advisers have privately griped about how much influence Musk has had on the transition and how inseparable he is from the president-elect.
Musk is unlikely to have such unfettered physical access to Trump after the president-elect is sworn in on Jan. 20 in Washington. Coming and going in the West Wing is more onerous than at Trump’s private clubs, as is access to the White House residence.
Still, Trump has often liked to collect people, and has enjoyed knowing that many of them pay for access to him. Since he first took office, people seeking to curry favor with him— or to get face time with him— have joined his clubs, rented ballrooms at his properties or stayed in his hotels.
Trump is said to have increased the annual membership fee at Mar-a-Lago to $1 million.
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