Publication Summary
Our previous work with Gates shows that Americans generally support their work in each of the four main target areas: Economic Mobility, Education, Global Health, Global Agriculture/Climate.
However, some of the cracks were already showing with white conservatives, who were less supportive of Gates’s initiatives across the board. In the survey and focus groups, we saw conservatives decry some of Gates’s domestic initiatives as “handouts” and reject foreign work under the general “America First” mantra.
We believe that these underlying symptoms will be brought to the forefront after the election of the Trump Administration. We believe there will be major roadblocks for some of Gates’s initiatives due to Trump Administration policies that actively undermine them, a general lack of support from the federal government on charity/aid initiatives especially overseas, and an increase in negative attitudes towards some of Gates initiatives from conservatives (anti-vax, climate change denying, America first, conservative education goals).
However, while there will be increased challenges, there are increased opportunities for Gates here as well. Gates has a chance to solidify their position as a leader that Americans trust and want to support, by providing help on issues (such as the economy and education) that the Trump Administration is making worse or neglecting. Many Americans are actively looking for ways to push back against Trump’s policies, and Gates is in a position where their initiatives can be one of the first things people think of when they think about getting involved
