The Last Stand for the American Middle Class has Failed: Let Them Eat Cake

VP Harris’s presidential campaign might have been the last stand for the American Middle Class. While Harris promised thousands of dollars towards the down payment of homes for first-time buyers, Trump reminded Americans of the $1,200 stimulus checks he “gave” them (It was really the Democrats who did this, but Trump, the salesman that he is, branded the checks with his name). Harris’s message was for the Middle Class, but Trump’s was for the poor and the wealthy, and his presidency may effectively end the American Middle Class.

Who Are Trump Voters?

Those who voted in favor of Trump seem to make up a majority of the country. With the rising prices, the Middle Class is able to get by with just a mild struggle for some, but the poor can’t afford groceries. The poor also have nowhere to cut from.

Trump infamously said, “…I love the poorly educated.”

Trump has always had the support of racist white guys, specifically of the poorer variety. They are angry and bitter, blaming DEI when they’re not even educated enough to get the debated positions. Working dead-end jobs and having little to no education, these guys steam when they see a Black person excel in a career. Immediately, these guys blame DEI, while ignoring the Black candidate’s degrees, experience and accomplishments.

Also, Trump has found some support, though not a great deal, from poor Black people and Latinx people in general. The latter group tends to be more conservative. The support he garners from poor African Americans is surprising.

During his 2016 victory speech, Trump infamously said, “We won with poorly educated. I love the poorly educated.” This poorly-educated group overlaps with his poor supporters.

Trump’s message of hate has acted as a lightning rod for support…

Moreover, some Americans are not as progressive as some would like to think. Although Trump lied about Democrats’ allowing same-day gender surgery for kids in schools, the underlying message resonated with a significant number of voters. Primarily, the message successfully galvanized those who hate anything related to what they see as homosexual or sexually wrong.

The above stated, Trump’s message of hate has acted as a lightning rod for support during these crushing economic times rife with soaring prices. Trump’s supporters are racists, sexists, poor people, poorly-educated people, the ultra wealthy and concerned citizens looking for economic relief. Not all of these groups are motivated by nefarious reasons. Still, Trump’s presidency is meant to help just one group and placate the other. In between, the Middle Class will be crushed.

The Implications of a Second Trump Presidency for Middle Class Americans

As noted previously, VP Harris was promising to help first-time homebuyers buy homes, while those who voted for Trump just want another $1,200. Millennials have stepped into their careers and, subsequently, into the Middle Class. With them, they brought debt, and some even had the audacity to start families.

…Biden fought hard for Student Loan Forgiveness.

However, too many Millennials still live with their parents. Others live in cramped spaces with roommates who forget to flush the toilet. Some are fortunate enough to have apartments to kick back in and worry about student loan payments.

Speaking of student loan payments, Biden fought hard for Student Loan Forgiveness. In a few instances, he won. He was unsuccessful in the greater attempt due to a fixed Supreme Court created by Donald Trump.

Considering the next four years and the decades and decades of negative ripple effects that will follow Trump’s second presidency, the Middle Class might have already lost its last stand with VP Harris’s campaign end. Trump stands to make “a country of workers not thinkers” as one businessman once said when speaking of his own version of an ideal workforce.

Out of hope for another $1,200, Trump’s supporters have unwittingly given him the keys to the American coffer.

When Trump was president, he signed off on giving hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to Elon Musk. Trump reminded Elon of this, and Elon interfered in this past election, going so far as to award a million dollars a day to Pennsylvania voters. He also donated $250 million to Trump’s campaign. This is a small price to pay for the billions of government subsidies he’ll get through Trump. It was a business deal seemingly.

Out of hope for another $1,200, Trump’s supporters have unwittingly given him the keys to the American coffer. Trump played his voters nearly the way Elon played him but worse. In return for $1,200, Trump stands to rake in tens of millions or billions. Elon donated what some would call a significant sum of money to Trump’s campaign. It’s pennies compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars Elon stands to get from government subsidies.

A great portion of taxpayer dollars are from the Middle Class. So, the wealthy and the poor to a very lesser degree will benefit from Trump’s second presidency, but the Middle Class will continue to struggle to afford a home (maybe more so) and the American Dream. The Middle Class is close enough to know what they’re missing, but the poor are so far away, they can’t even imagine getting there. And the wealthy are so far up in their castles in distant suburbs, they’ll never feel the pressure of the Middle Class or that of the poor.

Who Will be Hurt the Most

Although the Middle Class will be hurt, the poor will be hurt the most by Trump’s second term. Republicans have long railed against public assistance, looked for ways to cut food stamps and threatened social programs that benefit the poor. Now, with control of the Presidency, Senate, House and Supreme Court, Republicans have complete and total control over every aspect of the Federal Government.

A few years back, there were memes of people buying steak or seafood with food stamps or “LINK” Cards.

Donald Trump could bring an end to Federal funding for Section 8 and public housing. If he did, this would not be a surprise. Republicans have painted those in public housing as “welfare queens” and drug addicts. They’ll argue they’re doing the country a favor by ending funding for public housing.

A few years back, there were memes of people buying steak or seafood with food stamps or “LINK” Cards. Some people who didn’t like this argued that people on welfare were eating better than hard working people who didn’t get welfare. This made an assumption that those on welfare don’t work hard without considering that some people on welfare have jobs and receive food stamps as a subsidy.

Through divisive rhetoric, Trump fine-tuned his message of hate to incite or placate whoever he was standing before.

Quite literally, Trump threatens his own supporters with starvation and homelessness. But his voters are too poorly educated to see that or too wealthy to see it as anything other than great for the economy.

The Takeaway

Trump’s second presidency from many angles will seemingly annihilate the Middle Class and turn the currently poor into 14th-century beggars. Through divisive rhetoric, Trump fine-tuned his message of hate to incite or placate whoever was in a room with. He also made them think he was on their side and the man to right all the wrongs they felt. His presidency will be great for the wealthy but primarily himself. When his staff steps in to tell him that his supporters can no longer afford bread, he’ll wave a dismissive hand, while never looking away from FOX News playing on the big screen in the Oval Office and say, “Let them eat cake.”

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block. He also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new blog posts and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human.