President Donald Trump may alienate some of his core supporters by cutting funding to Medicaid and the food stamps program, according to new analysis.
The Washington Post took a detailed look at the recent White House budget proposal and concluded that it might actually hurt lower-income Americans who voted for him in last year's election.
"In many ways, this budget seems to cut against or contradict many of the key points of his campaign — that the government and powerful elites were not looking out for ordinary Americans," Gallup's Jonathan Rothwell told the Post.
"This budget is playing much more into the hands of core conservatives, even hardcore conservatives, and not at all to the neglected, disconnected, independent voters, who really made his election possible."
The Atlantic wrote last November that Trump won the roughly 3,000 counties that were smaller than the 100 largest by about 11.5 million votes. He also won several blue-collar states such as Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — states that ultimately delivered him a victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The White House's budget proposal contains a $191 billion cut in the food stamps program, to be spread out over 10 years. It also contains a 10-year cut in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program to the tune of $616 billion.
Prior to 2014 when Americans were required to carry heath insurance because of the Affordable Care Act, some states such as Wisconsin had high-risk insurance pools that helped people without insurance get the care they needed. There has been talk of bringing back those pools in the near future if Republicans are able to pass their healthcare bill.
"I can't imagine that too many of those independent voters [who voted for Trump] would be supportive of this budget proposal once they learn about the cuts to healthcare, welfare, disability, education, and training," Rothwell told the Post.
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