Another month, another heartbreaking story of Trump voters here in Kentucky who now are worried they'll be condemned to the crematorium along with the people they voted for Trump to incinerate.
Wesley Easterling noted that Trump had a kind of “charisma about him, something different.” The county he lives in typically goes for Democrats but in 2016 it went for Trump, despite having one of the highest poverty rates in the country.
Easterling is on food stamps and Medicaid and he believed Trump when the then-candidate swore he’d never touch Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Trump lied and Easterling and his family are fearful they’re going to lose critical benefits they need to stay afloat.
“I mean, I felt just like I was — just like he played me for a fool,” he said with a look of sadness in his eyes. “I mean, I kind of took it personal.”
Easterling does have one light at the end of the tunnel, he recently graduated from a pipe welding program at a local community college. He’s trying to get a job at a local refinery so he can get off of federal assistance.
He admitted if he could vote again he’d cast his ballot for former Secretary Hillary Clinton “without a doubt.”
When asking Easterling’s neighbors about Trump cutting federal programs that help him while he’s getting back on his feet, one man had just two words: “Tough luck.”
Easterling isn’t alone, Trump’s recently announced cuts hit rural communities the hardest. Already, many were struggling to keep schools open and farmers and ranchers continue to struggle after drought. Even conservative Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) isn’t happy with Trump.
Elliott County, Kentucky as a whole has about 7,500 people. Famously, it was "The Most Reliably Democratic County in America" until Trump came along. But Wesley here cast his first ever presidential vote for The Donald. He didn't care before. Now he has a two-year old girl and needs some help, but oh well.
My heart goes out to his daughter.
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