Partisanship and Norms: How Presidential Support Shapes Tolerance

Political scientists have been looking into why American democracy seems to be facing challenges. Surprisingly, studies during Trump's presidency revealed that many citizens, especially Republicans, backed actions that weakened democratic norms. But recent experiments show that voters from both parties are more lenient when their preferred politician is involved. To understand this, researchers analyzed surveys from 2006 to 2021.They found that support for eroding democratic norms was similar among Democrats and Republicans, depending on who was in the White House. This trend started as early as Bush's second term. When power is divided, people are even more accepting of these norm violations. This suggests that support for democratic rules is not as strong among those who back the president, long before and after Trump.