Rust Belt workers scrutinize Trump’s track record in embattled manufacturing town

27 September 2024

Donald Trump pulled off a major upset in the 2016 election when, just as liberal/progressive filmmaker Michael Moore predicted, he won Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — three Rust Belt states that had been reliably Democratic in presidential races. But in 2020, now-President Joe Biden won all of those states, although Trump prevailed in Ohio (which now leans Republican).

Now, in 2024, Trump is once again battling for electoral votes in the Rust Belt — this time against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump, in 2016, campaigned on restoring manufacturing jobs in the Rust Belt. But CNN, in a late September report, focuses on blue-collar workers in Ohio who have differing views on Trump. Some believe Trump failed to make good on his promises, while others remain loyal to him.

George Gorantis, a local United Auto Workers (UAW) president in Lordstown, Ohio detailed the hardships factory workers suffered after a plan closing in his area in 2019.

Gorantis told CNN, "There were divorces…. Families were ripped apart."

The report was part of CNN's "Show Me the Money" series.

President Joe Biden's allies have described him as aggressively pro-union, and David Green — a former local UAW president in Lordstown — told CNN, "I would agree with that."

Gorantis, however, noted that Trump still has a lot of hardcore supporters in Lordstown.

"It's a hard time right now," Gorantis told CNN's Phil Mattingly. "Because, you know, the unions have always backed Democrats. Always have. And it does look like it's starting to take a turning point."

Watch the full video below or at this link.

https://www.alternet.org/cnn-ohio-uaw/

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