The Trump Administration's Narrative Understood By Hard Working People

Part of the narrative which is sort of supported by the data is that Trump voters are the least educated, and they're voting for Trump out of white solidarity or out of frustration that they're, quote, unquote, "losing their country". And my concern with that is that it sort of reduces the condition of the Trump voter to one of pure ignorance. And I think it's far more complicated. ~ Marc Lamont Hill

The weird thing was that I went to Trump rallies thinking I was going to run into militant, right wing, racist people and mostly I didn't. That should have been a clue to me. The people I talked to were not, on the surface level, crazy. They were quite nice, quite normal, employed, and actually were wealthier than the press at that time would have led us to believe. At that time, the narrative was that these were all working poor but these were not working poor. That should've been a clue to me that this was a little bigger than I thought. ~ George Saunders

You see The Trump Administration's narrative about white working-class men, particularly those who have served in the military, and it resonates with you. You've heard the figures bandied about, like the claim that white male working-class men were responsible for 74% of the deaths in Iraq and 76% in Afghanistan, yet comprise only 34% of the American population.

You consider the colossal cost of this unbalanced sacrifice, knowing that these guys were sent off to hellhole locations and were at maximum risk in action for their country.

It strikes you that even as those huge sacrifices were being made, there's a sense that this very same population is having troubles at home. You see the economic pressures, the loss of employment to offshoring and outsourcing, which is hitting at their very way of life.

You add to this the cultural dialogue, sometimes labeling actions as "toxic masculinity," that sounds to those who have served and made sacrifices like contempt or like they don't understand who they are or what they hold in high esteem, isolating them even more.

Besides, you take into consideration the general economic situation that affects the majority of Americans. You are aware that approximately 40% of American households are not subject to federal income taxes and even enjoy credits, which is something that annoys those with an income tax burden.

You can observe how wide fretting over critical economic issues like inflation, good paying jobs, the rising cost of housing, credit card debt, and the price of gasoline permeate the worries of hard working class and the shrinking middle class, indicating the widespread financial worries in many lives, including the feeling that their previous service and economic struggle are not taken into account.