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I’m not sure what CNN was hoping to achieve with a study they recently conducted on the 2024 election. They brought in a “psychologist from Arizona State University, along with a renowned political scientist from Stanford, to design a test to understand how 4th and 5th-grade students see the 2024 election and the candidates.”
The psychologist, Ashley Landrum, and political scientist, Shanto Iyengar, led the study. According to the NY Post, Landrum had donated to Kamala Harris’ super PAC during the time she was surveying the children. She acknowledged this, saying she was “happy to disclose” that she was a Harris donor and a registered independent.
However, the results may not have been what CNN expected. Landrum interviewed 10- and 11-year-old children from New Jersey, Texas, and Arizona in May and September.
“What’s the first word that pops into your head when you hear the name Kamala Harris?” she asked, including a Texas boy:
A Texas girl mentioned that while it would be nice to have a Black woman as president, she was still “voting” for Donald Trump.
Little girl to CNN: “I’d be good for us to have a Black woman as president for the first time in history. But my vote’s kinda still on Trump.”
— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) September 26, 2024
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“Pure evil,” responded a New Jersey girl about Harris.
“Donald Trump is giving his life and his heart,” a Texas girl remarked when asked about Trump, just two months before an assassination attempt on him. When one boy, who called Harris a “liar,” was asked if he thought it was okay for a convicted felon to become president, he confidently replied, “Yes.”
CNN: Researchers found "more extreme responses from the Blue state kids than the Red state kids."
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 26, 2024
"Democrat-leaning kids were abut nine time more likely to express negative emotions about Donald Trump than Republican-leaning kids were about Kamala Harris."
"Republican-leaning… pic.twitter.com/qRQ8T3eqCK
In deep-blue New Jersey, some kids described Trump as “brave” for surviving “a gunshot” at a campaign rally, while others had more extreme views. One child said Trump is “like Hitler.” Another claimed Trump only wanted to be president to “control everybody,” and a third mentioned that people involved in Jan. 6 thought “Trump was a god.”
One of the main takeaways was that kids from blue states had “more extreme responses” than those from red states, being nine times more likely to express negative emotions about Trump than about Harris.
Landrum labeled Trump as “polarizing” but didn’t address the constant negative media portrayal of him. She also noted that “it’s very possible” the kids were echoing their parents’ opinions.
The study also examined whether children would visit households that supported the other candidate. “Republican-leaning kids were more open to visiting a Democrat-supporting household. Democrat-leaning kids were about five times more likely to say they would not want to go to a pro-Trump house.” Two Democrat-leaning kids mentioned their parents wouldn’t approve, with one saying Trump doesn’t like Black people.
Notably, the boy who called Harris a “liar” said he wouldn’t mind visiting, as “it’s about the personality of the people.”
Children shouldn’t be politicized, nor told that Trump is “like Hitler.” The media’s role in spreading propaganda to both kids and adults is clear. But the fact that “Republican-leaning” kids were more open to differing viewpoints shows a lot, especially when it challenges the old Democratic claim about which side is truly intolerant.
