Abstract
A barn in the middle of a cornfield in rural Ohio, where rural voters supported Trump in record numbers in 2016
CREDIT: Christine Ruddy/Shutterstock
Some former supporters say Donald Trump has not delivered on his promise to listen to the USA’s forgotten. Will it affect his re-election come November?
“You will never be ignored again. Your voice, your hopes and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.”
Those were some of the many assurances Trump delivered in his inauguration speech. Four years later, do the forgotten Americans feel that they have been listened to?
When Scott Schrock heard Trump’s pledge to listen to the citizens who were hard workers and patriots, he was immediately swept up. Schrock, who lives in Ohio, was concerned that the political climate of the country at the time silenced his freedom of speech and prevented true progress from being made. “In the age of political correctness, we needed to be able to speak without being afraid,” he told Index.
It wasn’t that Schrock completely believed Trump’s promise to Make America Great Again, but he appreciated his brash approach to challenging government function which, he felt, was a step in the right direction. “In the age of illogical political jargon and talking points, we needed some common sense,” he said. “I resonated with his pro-life stance. I didn’t buy all that Trump was selling, but I largely agreed with his view on economics, and it felt good to have someone willing to speak up for us again.”
Jessica Freeman, who lives in Georgia, said that while she was disappointed in the lack of a manufacturing resurgence that Trump had promised, she came to accept it as a painful but unfortunate reality.
But it was the Covid-19 pandemic and the country’s failure to contain it before more than 170,000 Americans died that caused Freeman to decide she would no longer support Trump. “When the pandemic hit and we needed him to be there to come up with a plan to protect us, he didn’t.”
Both Schrock and Freeman are members of Republican Voters Against Trump. Comprising “Republicans, former Republicans, conservatives and former Trump voters”, the coalition is mobilising against the re-election of Trump this autumn.
For Schrock, the administration’s handling of the virus cemented another realisation about Trump’s allegiance to the values he ran his 2016 campaign on. He said: “I realised that Trump is not pro-life, as evidenced by his total lack of compassion and focus on the deadly pandemic.”
More broadly, the Trump administration’s handling of immigration and foreign policy, and the role of the military in state affairs, has created a split in the general solidarity previously shared by his supporters.
For some, Trump is doing exactly what he promised, giving the public a rare glimpse into how international relations are conducted, such as in the case of the Ukraine scandal, while challenging the status quo. “Mr Trump, as crude as he may be and as blind to the defects of his own associates as he is, was nonetheless elected as a force for change,” Daniel McCarthy, editor of Modern Age: A Conservative Quarterly, wrote in The New York Times.
The inside and outside of small community radio station KSOI
CREDIT: Joe Hynek/KSOI
But others feel they are still being ignored, with their voices unheard and their wishes unfulfilled. Republican Voters Against Trump has become a home for voters who no longer feel they have one. “Unfortunately, my voice has been lost in this migration to a brand of politics known as Trumpism. I no longer have a political home that represents my values,” said Shrock.
Instead of feeling listened to, Schrock feels that the Trump presidency has upended the Republican party which he once felt gave a platform to his voice. Shrock no longer identifies as a Republican.
As to why many voters are still rallying behind Trump and will continue to do so, Freeman believes it comes down to a play on emotions. “He may not have answered your needs, but he’s not forgotten how to sway you.”