Comparing the narrative with facts: examining the impact of the presidency on right-wing domestic terrorism in the United States

Several studies have examined the activity of right-wing extremists in relation to the actions of President Trump (Chyzh, Nieman, & Webb, 2019; Piazza, 2020). Comparatively, little research has examined the impact of the Obama presidency on right-wing extremism despite a peak in the number of right-wing extremist groups during his second term (SPLC, 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the unique effects of the Obama and Trump candidacies and presidencies on the frequency of attacks committed by right-wing extremists in the U.S. The results indicate that President Obama’s second term was associated with a gradual, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks by right-wing extremists, while the presidency of Donald Trump was associated with an abrupt, permanent increase in the frequency of attacks. These findings suggest a number of policy implications related to political polarization and rhetoric in the U.S.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Fortunato, Olivia

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dierenfeldt, Rick
• McGuffee, Karen; Basham, Sherah
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Domestic terrorism
• Right-wing extremists
• Terrorism--United States

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/715

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1870