Residents of Beattyville, Kentucky, America’s poorest town, discuss their hopes for the Trump administration in a series of interviews with CNN news (video at link).


Donna Coomer, 52. (Beattyville, Kentucky)

1. Melissa Allen, 34. (Beattyville, Kentucky)

“I’ve lived in poverty my entire life. There’s really no hope. I don’t understand why the minimum wage here can’t be raised. I don’t get that. I hope it gets better. I really do, but I just don’t want to live on false hope.”


2. Donna Coomer, 52. (Beattyville, Kentucky)

“Have you ever tried to live on $7.25 an hour? It was horrible.” Ms. Coomer thanks God for Mr. Trump’s presidential win, believing that his election is the beginning of some new era.


3. Pegg Stewart, 62. (Detroit, Michigan)

“Mr. Trump, please take care of us. We’re looking to you.”

What unifies these disparate people is desperation and genuine fear for their own survival. What might be frustrating for viewers is that many of those interviewed do not necessarily connect the policies of Mr. Trump with the hardships that they are experiencing in their lives.


For instance, a number of those interviewed in this piece do not seem to recognize that President Trump (and the Republican Party) are generally against raising the minimum wage even as they simultaneously express worry about how low their wages are.

In an interview, Ms. Allen from Beattyville comes out and says, “I don’t understand why the minimum wage here can’t be raised. I don’t get that.” Ms. Allen expresses this concern even while explaining her support for a President who opposes increases in the minimum wage and in the past, called for the minimum wage’s complete elimination.

In a number of these interviews, it becomes apparent that a some of these voters supported Mr. Trump out of their own personal animus towards members of the LGBT community. This hostility to the “other” is backed up by voting data that asserts Trump voters were motivated more by fear of “diversity” more so than any other factor in their support of Mr. Trump’s candidacy.