Support for President Donald Trump among blue-collar workers in Youngstown, Ohio has not waned despite his failure to improve their economic situation, The New York Times reports.
Voters in Northeast Ohio flipped for Trump in the 2016 presidential election, picking him over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as the GOP nominee promised an economic resurgence – he told workers in nearby Youngstown, Ohio, that manufacturing jobs were not leaving.
“Don’t move, don’t sell your house,” he said at a rally in 2017.
Factory employment remains 10 percent below where it was before since the recession, per the Times, and General Motors in March shut down its Lordstown, Ohio, plant, forcing 1,435 workers to transfer to other plants or get laid off.
GM announced the closure in November, along with the closure of four other U.S. plants and one in Canada, resulting in cuts of 8,000 U.S. salaried and contract jobs, or a 15% reduction in workforce.
Still, voters there don’t care.
“The Democratic Party has lost its voice to speak to people that shower after work and not before work,” said David Betras, a Democratic Party leader in northeast Ohio. “All we’re saying is he won’t turn over his tax returns. He’s saying, ‘I’m fighting China to get you better jobs.’”
He added: “They don’t care about his taxes — they just don’t.’’
Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, suggested Democrats were sending the wrong message.
The president is “punching China in the face” with tariffs, while the “leading candidate on our side is saying China is not even an issue,” he said.
“If we go into the election with that as our message, we’ll get beat again.”
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