Being a white college graduate makes you much more likely to believe that President Trump is a racist, according to a Quinnipiac University survey released last month.
In fact, 46 percent of survey respondents who are white and have a college degree said they believe “the main motive behind President Trump’s immigration policies” is his "racist beliefs.” Meanwhile, only 31 percent of white people without a college degree found that Trump's immigration policies are mainly influenced by "racist beliefs."
Could it be that colleges are conditioning their students to hate Donald Trump?
In my opinion, it’s no coincidence.
Take a look at the speakers brought to campus, the coursework assigned in the classroom, the radical opinions professed by faculty, and the general code of conduct now widely accepted in academia. All these things, which make up the fabric of university life, create an echo-chamber ripe for misinformation and leftwing propaganda to be spread against the president.
Furthermore, students participating in a four-year, academic vacation -- also called the college or university system -- are often protected from the realities of immigration, especially in comparison to that of working-class individuals who are more likely to compete directly for jobs against illegal immigrants. Failing to understand the consequences of bad immigration policy would certainly make it more difficult to understand why Trump’s stance against illegal immigration is policy-driven and not personal.
The same survey found that 54 percent of white people with a college degree believe that Trump himself is racist, while 11 percent less of white respondents without a college degree believe Trump is racist.
Being sheltered from reality in these many ways explains the wide difference in perception. In fact, if students were presented with the facts they may have a different perspective altogether.
For starters, the unemployment rate among African Americans is at an all-time low. When Trump took office in January 2017, unemployment was 7.7 percent. More recent jobs reports peg it at 6 percent. One can also point to the Trump Administrations work for criminal justice reform and the creation of Opportunity Zones, which are meant to bolster investment in underserved or poorer cities.
And in fact, statistics show that during President Trump’s time in office, sentiments of racism have decreased. A 2008-2018 Panel Survey, authored by UPenn political science professor Daniel J. Hopkins, tracked white Americans’ racial attitudes and found that racism in America has significantly decreased since President Donald Trump’s election in 2016.
Students are living in a four-year echo-chamber of false information dominated by the Democratic machine which results in a skewed understanding of the political landscape before us. One can only expect such shocking poll results.