What the [expletive] were we thinking?” he asked the other night inside a Walmart here, in an area of blue-collar suburban Detroit that helped deliver the presidency to Trump.
However, where it got sticky for Trump was when he actually hurt his own base. It’s one thing not to make good on an unrealistic promise (cheaper, fairer, better health care for everyone!); it’s another to take money out oftheirpockets.
First came the tariffs thathit rural America hard. In the run-up to the midterms, weheard this kind of report: “The rust belt states he won over, in some cases very narrowly, are losing faith . . . [A]cross five of the rust belt states won by Trump in 2016 more voters believe the president’s tariffs on foreign imports are harmful to their families than beneficial.”
Now, “The shutdown fight, as it has played out over the past month, is further eroding the president’s support among voters who like the idea of beefing up border security — but not enough to close the government.” Suddenly Trump’s destructive tendencies don’t seem amusing:
Working-class people understand in a very personal way that Trump really doesn’t care about them (“the shutdown standoff has also poked holes in Trump’s ability to say he cares for the working class, given that 800,000 federal employees and an additional number of contractors are going without paychecks.”).
When Trump’s voters finally get hit, then they may finally abandon him. (His support among key groups such as suburban men and white, non-college educated mendroppedsignificantly.) We’d like to think all Americans care about one another, want to point to the president as a role model for their kids and fret when bad policies hurt the most vulnerable. Many Americans do operate that way -- just not Trump’s hardcore base. This is a zero-sum ground -- immigrants or them, elevation of Christianity or its eradication, white nationalism or white victimhood.
Focus on the workers whom Trump won’t allow to be paid, reach out to farmers whose income Trump slashed and present the sort of economic program that Trump could have followed to great success. Call it fairness or justice or whatever you please. It is now plain for all to see that the one most responsible for rigging the system against ordinary Americans is Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...5fed1b7a081_story.html?utm_term=.9cb87103d03b
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...rong-inflection-point/?utm_term=.d2355b4fc04b
However, where it got sticky for Trump was when he actually hurt his own base. It’s one thing not to make good on an unrealistic promise (cheaper, fairer, better health care for everyone!); it’s another to take money out oftheirpockets.
First came the tariffs thathit rural America hard. In the run-up to the midterms, weheard this kind of report: “The rust belt states he won over, in some cases very narrowly, are losing faith . . . [A]cross five of the rust belt states won by Trump in 2016 more voters believe the president’s tariffs on foreign imports are harmful to their families than beneficial.”
Now, “The shutdown fight, as it has played out over the past month, is further eroding the president’s support among voters who like the idea of beefing up border security — but not enough to close the government.” Suddenly Trump’s destructive tendencies don’t seem amusing:
Working-class people understand in a very personal way that Trump really doesn’t care about them (“the shutdown standoff has also poked holes in Trump’s ability to say he cares for the working class, given that 800,000 federal employees and an additional number of contractors are going without paychecks.”).
When Trump’s voters finally get hit, then they may finally abandon him. (His support among key groups such as suburban men and white, non-college educated mendroppedsignificantly.) We’d like to think all Americans care about one another, want to point to the president as a role model for their kids and fret when bad policies hurt the most vulnerable. Many Americans do operate that way -- just not Trump’s hardcore base. This is a zero-sum ground -- immigrants or them, elevation of Christianity or its eradication, white nationalism or white victimhood.
Focus on the workers whom Trump won’t allow to be paid, reach out to farmers whose income Trump slashed and present the sort of economic program that Trump could have followed to great success. Call it fairness or justice or whatever you please. It is now plain for all to see that the one most responsible for rigging the system against ordinary Americans is Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...5fed1b7a081_story.html?utm_term=.9cb87103d03b
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...rong-inflection-point/?utm_term=.d2355b4fc04b
