Ranchers and their families are living under the threat of losing their livelihoods thanks to wind-driven wildfires in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The fires have been so bad that seven lives and homes were lost—and big chunks of ranchers’ cattle herds. According to the New York Times, the lack of attention from the media and, more specifically, President Trump has left his devastated supporters feeling pretty bitter (emphasis mine):
Beyond the toll of the fire, a frustration also crops up in conversation after conversation. Ranchers said they felt overlooked amid the tumult in Washington, and were underwhelmed by the response of a new president who had won their support in part by promising to champion America’s “forgotten men and women.”
“This is the country that elected Donald Trump,” said Garth Gardiner, driving a pickup across the 48,000-acre Angus beef ranch he runs with his two brothers. They lost about 500 cows in the fires. “I think he’d be doing himself a favor to come out and visit us.”
I’m not going to say “I told ya so”—they’re already going through enough and they clearly are seeing the true, selfish Trump in action. But it’s pretty pathetic just how desperate they are for any sort of recognition—even if it’s in the form of 140 characters.
Mr. Gardiner voted for Mr. Trump, and said he just wanted to hear a presidential mention of the fires amid Mr. Trump’s tweets about the rapper Snoop Dogg, the East Coast blizzard and the rudeness of the press corps.
“Two sentences would go a long way,” Mr. Gardiner said.
To add insult to injury, Trump’s proposed budget would cut emergency programs under the Department of Agriculture—programs that the ranchers say aren’t adequate as is. I wonder how much they’re regretting their votes now?
Watch a video from the New York Times about the wildfires below: