At his 2024 campaign rallies, Donald Trump repeatedly blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for inflation — which he promised to fix if he won the election. And that messaging proved effective: Trump, according to the Cook Political Report, won 312 electoral votes and defeated Democratic presidential nominee Harris by roughly 1.5 percent in the popular vote.
One of the swing states that Trump won was Pennsylvania, where he promised low-income voters that he would bring down inflation if he won.
According to Washington Post reporter Tim Craig, those voters will have a rude awakening if they experience benefit cuts during Trump’s second administration.
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In an article published the day after Christmas, Craig cites New Castle, Pennsylvania north of Pittsburgh as a place where Trump performed well among low-income voters.
“Trump carried the Pennsylvania city of New Castle by about 400 votes, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to win here in nearly 70 years,” Craig explains. “More than 1 in 4 residents live in poverty, and the median income in this former steel and railroad hub ranks as one of the lowest in Pennsylvania. New Castle’s poorest residents weren’t alone in putting their faith in Trump. Network exit polls suggest he erased the advantage Democrats had with low-income voters across the country.”
Craig adds, “Fifty percent of voters from families with an income of less than $50,000 a year cast their ballots for Trump, according to the data, compared with 48 percent for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
But now, according to Craig, “low-income Americans who voted for Trump” are hoping he will “keep their benefits intact” even though other Republicans are urging the president-elect “to reduce federal spending.”
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In New Castle, Craig notes, “federal benefits”—including food stamps and Medicaid — “have helped keep residents afloat.”
Lori Mosura, a struggling New Castle resident, 2024 Trump voter and single mother who receives food stamps, told the Post, “We helped get you in office; please take care of us. Please don’t cut the things that help the most vulnerable.”
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Read the full Washington Post article at this link (subscription required).
