Beyond Performance: Racial Prejudice and Whites’ Mistrust of Government

Scholars have argued that racial policy beliefs contributed to a decline in public trust among white-Americans, but this effect waned over time as racial policies left the agenda. We theorize that beliefs about racial policies may have been integrated into whites’ racial attitudes, resulting in a durable association between racial prejudice and public trust. Our analysis of eight ANES surveys (1992–2020) shows that racial prejudice, measured in terms of anti-Black stereotypes, informs white Americans’ beliefs about the trustworthiness of the federal government. LDV models strengthen our contention by showing that the relationship persists after an LDV is included and it is not reciprocal. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11109-022-09774-6.