It’s no secret that Trump’s supporters have expertly suspended reality to justify the bizarre nightmare that has taken over the White House. But what remains most mystifying and sad is how, out of desperation, so many people voted for him against their own economic interests based on the belief that he would bring back jobs and revive the economy. Unfortunately, the “poorest white town in America” is no exception.
Trump won 81 percent of the vote in Beattyville, Kentucky—one of the most impoverished places in the country and a town that received the dubious distinction of being the “poorest white town in America” four years in a row. It’s no surprise that people there love him and insist that he will solve their economic woes.
"Donald Trump's got all the money he'll ever need," says Steve Mays, judge-executive for the county and life-long Beattyville resident. The 49-year-old says he's never been more excited about a president than he is now. "Trump will be a president for the common man."
Its hard to imagine the last time a billionaire even associated with a common man, let alone understood the “common man’s” problems.
But the problems of Beattyville’s residents are all too real—too serious to be entrusted to such a con man like the current president.
Beattyville residents want jobs, especially ones that pay more than the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. They think if anyone can bring jobs back, it's Trump.
...Today, the town is a ghost of its former self. The vast majority of Beattyville residents get some form of government aid -- 57% of households receive food stamps and 58% get disability payments from Social Security.
It’s likely that folks in Beattyville don’t know (or don’t care) that not only does Trump not support raising the minimum wage, he has put forth a candidate for secretary of Labor who actually spent $10,000 to support a legal battle in Nevada to oppose raising wages by one dollar.
"I hope [Trump] don't take the benefits away, but at the same time, I think that once more jobs come in a lot of people won't need the benefits," says Hayes, who currently receives about $500 a month from government assistance. She's also on Obamacare.
And of course, while they think that jobs will solve all their problems, we know that Trump plans to help Republicans dismantle Obamacare and “entitlements,” the very types of government assistance that so many of the town’s residents rely on, with no viable alternative in place.
People in places like Beattyville are really hurting. And that will lead them to believe almost anything, even when it doesn’t add up. Someone with no experience in government and no experience creating opportunities that didn’t coincide with making him rich cannot be relied on to help the poorest of the poor. Sadly, because of their vote, the situation for these folks is likely to get much worse in the next four years.