Replication Data for: "Polarizing Figures in Polarized Times: Presidential Involvement and Public Opinion on Climate Policy"

Public opinion on climate policy is highly polarized by political party; however, it is still far from unmovable. In this study, I explore an understudied factor in public attitudes toward climate policy in the US context—the involvement of the president. I examine two key mechanisms through which presidential involvement may impact public opinion—by increasing the salience of a policy, and by priming the public to evaluate climate policy through a partisan lens. Analyzing questions on the Paris Agreement and Environmental Protection Agency carbon regulation, I find that partisan polarization in support for these presidential policies tends to increase at moments when the salience of the policies rises. I also find higher levels of polarization in questions directly mentioning the president, revealing how messaging that includes the president may increase partisanship. Finally, in all cases, increases in polarization are primarily due to decreasing support among Republicans.