“People aren’t constitutional scholars. They trust their elected officials from their party to know the rules of politics. And when members of their own party say that someone has broken the rules, that’s when public opinion will really begin to change,” said Nicholas Valentino, U-M professor of political science, who doesn’t expect to see much more fluctuation in the number of people who support or oppose impeachment of Donald Trump unless Republican leaders begin to break ranks and support it.

Professor Valentino is a student of political communication, political psychology, and electoral behavior. His work focuses on political campaigns, racial attitudes, emotions, and social group cues in news and political advertising. His current work examines the intersection between racial attitudes and emotion in predicting political participation and vote choice.