Signifying Aggrieved White Selves: Trump Supporters’ Racial Identity Work

Based on 29 in-depth interviews during the run-up to 2016 U.S. presidential election, we examine how Trump supporters engaged in a form of identity work that call signifying aggrieved white selves. Taking an interactionist approach, demonstrate they used racial discourse and emotional communication engage three distinct forms work: (1) othering racialized freeloaders, (2) criminalizing others, (3) discrediting dissenters. Our study contributes research emotions race which emphasize linguistic or cultural frames and/or subjectivity rather than dramatization selfhood. We propose selfhood is generic process useful lens for analyzing foundational concept critical theory—namely, social construct—is reproduced everyday life.