Claims of Victimhood Shield Politicians from Political Scandals

Political scandals can shape entire elections and political structures within society. Scholars have long pointed to different strategies politicians can use to respond to such scandals—finding strategies like denying may be more effective than apologizing. However, a recent trend suggests politicians increasingly respond to accusations of scandal by emphasizing how they (or their political in-group) have been victimized. These victimhood strategies may be highly effective by garnering sympathy and reducing blame, but have yet to be studied in political scandal research. Across 3 studies in the United States (N = 2,541), we show that when politicians respond to scandal accusations by emphasizing their own (or their political in-group’s) victimhood, participants see them as more moral and less responsible for the scandal. Additionally, people are more sympathetic to politicians emphasizing victimhood as compared to apologizing and control conditions. Victimhood strategies do not reduce competency evaluations—potentially making these strategies especially effective. While responding by highlighting victimhood is less effective than denial, victimhood strategies positively benefit reactions to scandalized politicians with people from across the ideological spectrum. Further these strategies work similarly well for male and female politicians. These findings underscore how responding to scandal with victimhood can significantly and positively influence the publics’ perceptions of a scandalized politician—highlighting the powerful influence of victimhood in political scandal research.