To read and listen to the mainstream media, it would appear that everybody has heard of the “alt-right” and its news sites and likely President-elect Trump’s ties to the movement.
Nope.
A new Pew Research Center finds that a majority, 54 percent, haven’t heard of “alt-right.” Some 28 percent have heard “a little” and just 17 percent “a lot.”
The mainstream has focused on what they call alt-right sites such as Brietbart to hit Trump and his aides, notably former Brietbart exec Stephen Bannon.
Turns out it’s mostly a left-wing issue.
“Liberal Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are far more likely than other Democrats to have heard about the movement,” said Pew. And many associate the alt-right with white supremacy.
Added Pew:
“There are stark partisan differences in impressions of the alt-right movement. Democrats (47%) are nearly three times as likely as Republicans (17%) to say the movement stands for “white supremacy” or “white nationalism.” Democrats are also more likely than Republicans to associate the movement with ‘racism” or “prejudice” (18% of Democrats, 10% of Republicans). By contrast, Republicans (8%) are more likely than Democrats (less than 1%) to describe the alt-right more generically as a “conservative movement” and are more likely to decline to volunteer a response at all (39% vs. 21%).
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
