📌 Responding to DOG WHISTLES
How to Have Better Political Conversations, Part 3
Welcome to How to Resist, an instruction manual for resistance based on nonviolence, mutual aid, and community building for ordinary people who want to save democracy.
This is part 3 of our series: How to Have Better Political Conversations
What are political dog whistles?
Just as dog whistles are meant to be heard by dogs, not humans, political dog whistles are coded statements meant to be understood by a particular group but not everyone. Dog whistles allow politicians to avoid making controversial statements that may be objectionable to many voters while still sending a clear message to their targeted audience.
Take, for example, the phrase “welfare queen” used by Ronald Reagan in his 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns. The phrase ‘welfare queen’ does not mention race explicitly, but was used by Reagan to conjure images of black women (and men) on public assistance who were gaming the system to accumulate wealth. It was used to insinuate that people on public assistance do not have a legitimate need for it, do not want to work, are likely to abuse the system, and therefore steal from ‘us’, the hardworking American taxpayers.
Dog whistles conjure the sensation of a threat, often by ((immoral, lawless, lazy, free-loading, foreign, undeserving)) minorities, against ((trustworthy, hardworking, tax-paying, law-abiding, Christian, white)) Americans.
In these conjured scenarios, there is a third entity, the politician, and it is the politician who presents themself as the person who has the ability to intervene and mitigate this threat. According to Ian Haney López, legal scholar and author of Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class, this is where the real power of dog whistles lies; it gets people elected.1
How can I tell if a political message is a dog whistle or not?
Since dog whistles are designed to be understood by a minority, and because it’s used with the pretense of plausible deniability, it can take some effort to determine if a statement is a dog whistle or not.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to determine if a statement is a dog whistle:
Does the language seem coded or ambiguous?
Is there a lack of policy or specific actions that accompany the statement?
Does it appeal to specific biases or prejudices, even if not explicitly mentioned?
Is there plausible deniability? Can the speaker easily deny any controversial intent because the language used is not overtly discriminatory?
Does it create an us vs. them mentality? Does the message subtly divide people into opposing groups, creating a feeling of conflict or competition?
Does the language draw on historical or cultural references that might be familiar to the intended audience but not obvious to others?
Does the language focus on specific groups as scapegoats?
Does the message seem part of a broader strategy to mobilize support from a particular voter base without alienating the general public?
Think about these characteristics as you read these examples of dog whistles from 2024/2025. Have you heard these statements made by politicians or ordinary folks in conversation?
Examples of dog whistles from today’s political landscape
America First / Make America Great Again
What to watch out for: nationalist, nativist, and isolationist ideologies, prioritizing American interests over all others, even our allies, animosity towards international cooperation, tones of xenophobia and racism.2
Big Government
What to watch out for: attacks on federal assistance, grants, SNAP benefits, unemployment, health insurance, federal protections, regulations, and civil rights.3
George Soros
What to watch out for: anti-semitism and conspiracy theories4
Parental rights
What to watch out for: opposition to topics of gender identity, sexual orientation, and race in school settings or library books.5
Voter Fraud
What to watch out for: widespread rumors of voter misconduct without any credible evidence, and conspiracy theories.6
Family Values
What to watch out for: attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, trans rights, reproductive rights, and comprehensive sex education.7
Activist Judges
What to watch out for: undermining of the legitimacy of an independent judiciary.8
States’ Rights / Leave It Up to the States
Historically used to oppose civil rights legislation and maintain segregation, as well as limit access to reproductive healthcare today. Watch out for: attacks on federal agencies and federal protections for education, healthcare, the environment, and public lands.
Immigration / Illegal Alien / Illegals / Border Crisis
Invasion / Flood / Swarm / Overrun
MS-13 / Tren de Aragua / Gang / Killers / Murderers / Rapists
What to watch out for: the criminalization of undocumented immigrants, targeting of immigrant populations, targeting of racial and ethnic minorities - especially Latinos, limiting of rights and due process of noncitizens.
Real Americans
What to watch out for: suggestions that white conservative Christians are the true Americans; that is the ‘us’ in the ‘us vs. ‘them’ dynamic.9
Woke / Radical Left
What to watch out for: demonization of progressive policies, movements and activities, including the Black Lives Matter movement, youth and student movements, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ and trans rights, immigrant rights, and housing rights, and progressive policies.10
DEI / DEI hires / Merit-based / Illegal Discrimination
What to watch out for: DEI being categorized as “unfair” to Americans (see ‘real Americans’ above) and being reframed to support historically advantaged persons, scapegoating of minorities as ‘DEI hires’ for a range of problems from airplane crashes to wildfires to inflation.11
Gender Ideology / Biological Reality / Protect the Children / Social Contagion / Boys Playing Girl’s Sports
What to watch out for: attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, trans rights, gender identity, rejection of pronouns and chosen names, and forced acceptance of sex assigned at birth.12
How many dog whistles can you identify in this campaign ad from January 2024?
What makes people susceptible to dog whistles?
Dog whistles are particularly insidious because they can trap well-meaning people into adopting an us vs. them mentality, obscure systemic issues, and manipulate people (and their voting behaviors) with fear and anxiety. Here’s what evidence suggests makes us more susceptible to dog whistles: 13 14 15 16
Being white. There is really no other way to put this: If you are white in America, you are the target of dog whistle politics. It is your vote they are trying to get.
Lack of knowledge of historical or cultural context may lead someone to fail to recognize a dog whistle as such.
Pre-existing biases or prejudices.
Anxiety or fear about social changes.
Strong identification with a particular group (e.g., political, racial, or cultural)
Economic hardship may lead people to believe their struggles stem from other groups, rather than systemic issues.
Consumption of media that frequently uses dog whistle language.
Notably missing from this list is political ideology. While most folks (including researchers!) assume that conservatives are more susceptible to dog whistles, at least one study (N=1,797) found that ‘racially resentful,’ self-identified liberals can also be swayed by implicit dog whistles.1718
The Future of Dog Whistles
I’m sure many of you are reading this and thinking that dog whistles in the age of Trump are not dog whistles at all, but bullhorns, and you’re right. They are indeed saying the quiet part out loud.19
Whether it’s better to be up against implicit or explicit dog whistles is yet to be determined, but what we do know is that dog whistles are not going away; they are far too successful a tool for winning elections. Dog whistles and those who use them will likely evolve and adapt to overcome challenges such as the changing demographics of the United States and the disappearance of the white majority. We can certainly expect dog whistles to continue, grow louder, and become more insidious.20
So, how do we confront and diffuse dog whistles?
8 Ways to Combat Dog Whistles
Recognize what makes you susceptible to dog whistles.
Question the political messages you hear.
Identify dog whistles and call them out as such.
Have open and honest conversations with people about the purpose and impact of dog whistles.
Listen to what communities affected by dog whistles are saying, amplify their voices, and share their perspectives.
Support communities that are scapegoated by dog whistles and advocate for their dignity and rights.
Promote the usage of clear, inclusive language.
Ask questions when you hear dog whistles repeated in your political conversations. Some examples are below
11 Ways to Respond to Dog Whistles in Your Conversations
“Hmm.. I’m not sure I’m following, can you explain what you mean by that?”
“What specific policies or actions are you referencing when you say '[dog whistle]?”
“How do you think this approach might affect [the affected community]?”
“Are there historical examples/evidence that support your view? Are those examples outliers or the norm?”
“Let’s take a moment to consider the potential consequences of this perspective…”
“Tell me more about what makes you think that?” (e.g. values, fear, anxiety)
“This perspective sounds like it excludes the voices of [affected community]. Let’s see what they say about this topic and bring them into the discussion.”
“I wonder if we might be able to find some alternative approaches that would address your concerns…”
“It sounds like [this dog whistle] is scapegoating [affected community]. I’m wondering if there could be systemic reasons for this issue, such as…”
“Have you heard of political dog whistles? [Here’s an example and explanation of what they do]”
“[Dog whistle statement] is a dog whistle. It creates an ‘us vs them’ mentality and scapegoats [the affected community]. Help me understand why this appeals to you…”
Learn More
Today’s post was inspired by the work of Ian Haney López. Haney López’ work on dog whistles goes well beyond their use as a rhetorical tactic and explores how dog whistles have convinced the American middle class to drop their guard against powerful entities with concentrated wealth (corporations, interest groups, lobbying firms, billionaires) and vote against their best interests. If you would like to learn more, I would highly recommend Dog Whistle Politics (Oxford University Press, 2015) and his follow-up book, Merge Left (New Press, 2019).
What’s your experience?
Have you experienced dog whistles in your conversations? Have you heard a dog whistle recently that should be added to the list? Share in the comments below!
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This is why we most often hear dog whistles as part of political campaigns. For a fantastic source on dog whistles in campaign ads, see the searchable database of racists and xenophobic dog whistles in GOP ads from America’s Voice: http://gopadtracker.com/
The top 20 common Republican dog whistles. (n.d.). The Democracy Labs. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from https://thedemlabs.org/2022/02/28/dogwhistle-politics-culture-wars-republicans-use-to-get-elected/
ibid.
Lavin, T. (2018, October 24). Conspiracy theories about Soros aren’t just false. They’re anti-Semitic. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/10/24/conspiracy-theories-about-soros-arent-just-false-theyre-anti-semitic/
Advocacy and Communication Solutions. (2024). ACS Summer 2024 Newsletter. https://www.advocacyandcommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ACS-Spring-2024-Newsletter.pdf
ibid.
ibid.
The top 20 common Republican dog whistles. (n.d.). The Democracy Labs. Retrieved April 25, 2025, from https://thedemlabs.org/2022/02/28/dogwhistle-politics-culture-wars-republicans-use-to-get-elected/
ibid.
Parker, A., & Goodwin, L. (2023, February 21). Republicans use ‘wokeism’ to attack left — but struggle to define it. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/21/wokeism-republicans-liberals/
Moore, E. (2025, January 31). Why Would Anyone Who Runs a Successful Business Fall for Republicans’ DEI Trap? Slate. https://slate.com/business/2025/01/trump-dei-republican-dog-whistle-diversity-capitalism-success-profit.html
Baska, M. (2022, August 3). Common transphobic dog-whistles about trans kids debunked by actual science. PinkNews | Latest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans News | LGBTQ+ News. https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/08/03/trans-youth-study-stigma-bullying-usa/
Perry, S. L. (2023). Mating call, dog whistle, trigger: Asymmetric alignments, race, and the use of reactionary religious rhetoric in American politics. Sociological Theory, 41(1), 56–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/07352751231153664
Al-Kire, R. L., Miller, C. A., Pasek, M. H., Perry, S. L., & Wilkins, C. L. (2024). White by another name? Can anti-Christian bias claims serve as a racial dog whistle? Psychological Science, 35(4), 415–434. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976241236162
‘Dog-Whistle’ Journalism and Muslim Australians since 2001. (n.d.). https://consensus.apphttps://consensus.app/papers/%E2%80%98-dogwhistle-%E2%80%99-journalism-and-muslim-australians-since-poynting-noble/ba7d9c2d23775516b11bd2e95d7c724a/
Goddard, T. (2025, March 8). Dog Whistle Politics. Political Dictionary. https://politicaldictionary.com/words/dog-whistle-politics/
Wetts, R., & Willer, R. (2019). Who is called by the dog whistle? Experimental evidence that racial resentment and political ideology condition responses to racially encoded messages. Socius : Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 5, 237802311986626. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023119866268
An excellent example of dog whistles aimed at liberal audiences is Bill Clinton’s use of “new democrat,” “tough on crime,” “ending welfare as we know it,” and “super predators” dog whistles used during his 1992 presidential campaign and subsequently during his presidency.
Woods, E. T., & Schertzer, R. (2022). Trump has put down his racist dog whistle and picked up a bull horn. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/trump-has-put-down-his-racist-dog-whistle-and-picked-up-a-bull-horn-176523
Lìpez, I. H. (2020). Merge left: Fusing race and class, winning elections, and saving America. New Press. https://www.amazon.com/Merge-Left-Winning-Elections-America/dp/1620975645