Donald Trump's populism charms some Hoosiers

He’s a billionaire. Many of his supporters are low-income victims of a shrinking middle class.

He’s an Ivy Leaguer who came from a background of privilege. Many of his supporters’ education ended after high school.

On paper, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination doesn’t look much like many of the Hoosiers who are rallying behind him.

Yet, when Donald Trump opens his mouth, they say they hear themselves.

The same brash tone that causes his opponents to call him a bigot, the same policies that caused fellow Republican Jeb Bush to say he was not a serious candidate, sound to many of Trump’s avid supporters like a breath of fresh air.

Trump's populist rhetoric, including attacks on Islam and Washington insiders, hits home to a huge group of Americans who worry about immigration and the growing threat of terrorism, who are sick of what they see as political correctness run amok, who feel trapped by a changing economy, and who — most significantly — have lost faith in a government they believe has let them down and left them behind.

“What appeals to me about Mr. Trump is the fact that he will say what he wants to say. There is no filter with him, he isn't politically correct,” said Trump supporter Joe Clayton. “I think that's a most welcoming sight to most Americans.”

Clayton, a 32-year-old husband and father of three who lives in the small Hendricks County town of Lizton, is far from alone. Recent polls show Trump leading the GOP field of presidential hopefuls by wide margins in Indiana and nationally.

The businessman-slash-celebrity's approach may make him one of the most polarizing presidential candidates ever, but it certainly hasn't prevented Trump from winning the hearts of many Hoosiers like Clayton who are tired of the same-old same-old in Washington and looking for a voice.

“Hoosiers are angry,” explained Brian Howey, publisher of Howey Politics Indiana. “A lot of voters are living vicariously through Trump, who is articulating the things they sense and feel.”

Howey said the motivation behind that anger is clear: Many people are still reeling from drops in home prices from the Great Recession. Retirees have lost pensions they worked years to earn. Health care costs are high. The good-paying jobs that allowed Hoosiers without a college degree to live the American Dream are disappearing.

A new Pew Research survey illustrates the reality of many Trump backers: “Americans in middle-income households have lost significant ground since 1970.” The nation’s once-vaunted middle class “has long been the country’s economic majority,” the study noted, but that’s no longer the case. And lower-income earners are faring even worse.

“All of that kind of feeds into a Jimmy Carter-era malaise that Trump has really tapped into,” Howey said. “It’s working for him right now. The question is, can he sustain it?”

As of earlier this month, Trump's approach was still resonating with Hoosiers.

A Bellwether Research poll, conducted Dec. 2-9, showed Trump leading the field of Republican presidential contenders with 26 percent of GOP-leaning voters in Indiana listing him as their top choice. The next closest candidates were Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, tied at 17 percent, and Ben Carson with 16 percent.

A national poll of Republicans and GOP-inclined independent voters showed Trump’s support soaring to 41 percent. In that Monmouth University sampling taken Dec. 10-13, Cruz came in second, but with only 14 percent.

Trump's strongest support tends to come from lower-income, less-educated voters. His backers, according to Pew, also tend to be more likely than backers of the other GOP hopefuls to support deporting all illegal immigrants and raising taxes on the wealthy. They're fed up with traditional politicians and don't trust the media. And now, they finally have a mainstream candidate who's using his bully pulpit to voice their concerns.

“I’m tired of (candidates) sugarcoating it and then getting in there and doing the very opposite,” said Shawana Shelby, 45, of Indianapolis.

"He speaks the truth. He tells people like it is and he don’t care if he hurts their feelings or not. I just love him for that. How he’s very outspoken.”

The school food-service worker said she believes Trump can break the Washington gridlock and get things done. High on her agenda is addressing immigration.

“I’m tired of the government letting foreigners come over here and getting free handouts, while us Americans is busting our butts," she said. "We have to go through all the red tape bullcrap, you know, just to get help and then we’re told we make too much. No! Sorry, but I will back Donald Trump on that.”

The fact that Trump "is not a career politician" appeals to Lorinda Phelps, 35, of Indianapolis. She said Trump is sort of like "a crazy uncle” who spouts off at family gatherings. He may be right, but he's not always tactful.

"He says what everyone else is thinking," explained Phelps, who has a small DJ and photography business. "Things that normal, everyday Americans are concerned about, he’s bringing to the forefront."

Trump's bombastic approach certainly garners a lot of attention, but its not always the good kind.

That trait cost him a seat behind the wheel of the pace car for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 after his comments questioning president Obama's birthplace focused unwanted heat on Speedway officials. Trump officially bowed out because of a reported scheduling conflict, but not until after race officials were inundated with complaints on social media, including a Facebook page called "Dump Trump," and from a group of local Baptist ministers calling Trump's comments racist.

Phelps, like many other Trump supporters, sees the candidate's candor as refreshing and on target, rather than boorish or problematic.

"I think one of the biggest things with Americans and Donald Trump is that he’s not always politically correct in what he says," she said. "But he says the right thing. He just doesn’t always go about it the right way."

Phelps said she's willing to overlook the occasional bluster and offensive comments because Trump seems to have his heart in the right place.

“He’s going to say some things that are offensive. ... He doesn’t mind hurting feelings for our best interest,” she said. “He’s about getting America back to where it needs to be."

Many supporters also like Trump’s business background — even though he's had some setbacks, including bankruptcies and high-profile struggles in Indiana tied to his casino business.

In 2004, Trump beat out two other bidders, including a group that involved Hoosier hoops legend Larry Bird, to win the license for a $100 million casino project at French Lick. Moments after the Indiana Gaming Commission announced the decision at the historic French Lick Springs Resort hotel, a polka band launched into “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

But that wasn’t to be the case for Trump, whose company was in the midst of a financial reorganization. Six months later, Trump backed out of the French Lick project after state regulators made demands his company couldn’t meet.

Trump’s stumble on that project delayed the relief residents of the economically depressed region had been waiting on for years. At the time, he admitted he should have backed out sooner.

“It was my own fault,” Trump said in a 2005 interview with The Star. “I loved the people. I would have pulled out much earlier. I felt so guilty.”

That same year, Trump’s publicly traded casino company also sold its underperforming riverboat in Gary.

But memories of those busted business deals in Indiana have faded, replaced by Trump’s larger-than-life persona as a successful real estate developer and entrepreneur. It’s an image he honed and sold to millions of Americans over 14 seasons of the popular reality show “The Apprentice.”

And now, Trump is carrying his trademarked catch-phrase, “You’re fired!” over to his campaign — a slogan that resonates with Hoosiers feeling disenfranchised and let down by their national political leaders.

Gary Gibboney, 67, of Indianapolis, said he is "thoroughly disgusted" with the political posturing and gridlock in Washington. And he's tired of politicians making promises on the campaign trail, only to break them when they are elected.

"I kind of like what he represents in terms of not being a politician," said Gibboney.

The retiree, who worked for a telephone company and ran a sales training firm, also likes Trump's business experience. He said that would be a welcome change to the "inept, incompetent politicians" ensconced in Washington.

"Our country is in desperate need of people with business experience," he said. "We need people who've really created jobs and balanced budgets."

Despite Trump's appeal, some of his Hoosier supporters are still not sure he will make it through the primary to be on the ballot next November.

Gibboney said he could end up voting for Cruz or Rubio.

Clayton and Phelps, on the other hand, said they also like Ben Carson because of his status as a political outsider. But they both question Carson's ability to survive the grueling campaign.

"I'm over the lifetime politicians running this country," Clayton said. "They only have corporate interests in mind and we don't need that running our government."

Howey, the political analyst, said the first few primaries should determine whether Trump is a real contender — or a reality-TV pretender.

“It is one thing to live vicariously through a guy who says what you are thinking and feeling," he said. "But it’s another thing when push comes to shove in the voting booth.”

Call Star reporter Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.