As shutdown extends, Trump losing support of white working-class voters

By Eugene Scott
January 14 at 1:57 PM

It has been said that the voting bloc President Trump cares about most — or maybe even cares only about — is his base. And while Trump won the support of certain voting blocs generally viewed as part of his base, such as white evangelicals and older Americans, few groups are viewed as being more synonymous with Trump’s base than white working-class voters.

Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 37 percent, according to the latest CNN poll, which reported:

“The increase in disapproval for the President comes primarily among whites without college degrees, 45% of whom approve and 47% disapprove, marking the first time his approval rating with this group has been underwater in CNN polling since February 2018. In December, his approval rating with whites who have not received a four-year degree stood at 54%, with 39% disapproving.”

While Trump easily won white working-class voters in the 2016 presidential election, a lot has changed since then. The president has found himself in more controversies related to his financial dealings, high turnover among White House staffers and his relationship with Russian power players. It is perhaps these concerns that are playing a part in causing white working-class voters to express declining support for the president.

Unsurprisingly, white working-class voters remain supportive of Trump’s proposed border wall, but they are more likely than not to blame the president for the government shutdown — a situation that came as a result of failed negotiations with Democrats to get a border wall. It will be telling to see whether white working-class voters will continue backing Trump’s hard-line immigration policies even if that means prolonging the government shutdown that has greatly inconvenienced many of their lives.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/14/shutdown-extends-trump-losing-support-white-working-class-voters/