White working-class voters turning against Trump: ‘I’m getting sick of him’
28 July 2020
President Donald Trump is in trouble with the white working-class voters who helped propel his surprise victory in 2016.
That year, Trump won non-college-educated white voters by 39 points, and there’s evidence to suggest that turnout among that group was higher than in prior elections — but now there’s growing evidence those same voters have had enough of him, reported Politico.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s done some good stuff, but lately he’s just been ticking me off,” said Kathy Manuel, a Scranton voter who backed Barack Obama twice and now regrets her Trump vote in 2016.
“He’s not taking the virus serious enough,” she added. “He keeps saying it’ll go away, and that’s not true. We need someone to fix this country right now, because it’s a mess. I don’t really like [Joe] Biden, either. I don’t like how extreme the Democrats are with abortion nowadays. But he’s been around a long time, he seems to know the system, so maybe he can get things back on track. I don’t know. This country is out of whack, and Trump doesn’t seem to care. I’m getting sick of him, you know?”
Other Scranton voters told similar tales.
“You know, whether you liked George W. Bush or Barack Obama, at least they had morals, at least they were good people,” said Joe Barbuti, a 43-year-old who sat out the last presidential election. “I took that for granted back then, and I won’t ever take it for granted again. Trump is not a good person, and I think Biden is going to win because of that.”
Barbuti “definitely” plans to vote against Trump in November’s election.
“I’m not a big Biden guy,” he said. “Not at all, actually. But it’s time for a change. Trump has divided the country. It’s time to give someone else a chance. That’s how a lot of people seem to be thinking around here. A lot of people in this area who didn’t vote, are going to vote for Biden, and I actually think a lot of Democrats who switched to Trump, are going to go back to voting Democrat this time.”
Dave Sherman, a 75-year-old who voted for Clinton in 2016, is counting the days until he can vote against Trump again.
“Yeah, but it’s Trump who got us here,” Sherman said. “He said he was going to Make America Great Again. Now look at us! We’re going down the sh*tter, and he’s the one flushing.”