An NBC News poll last April showed that Trump had a 26-point lead among voters who don’t follow political news. In contrast, voters who got their political news from newspapers, the most comprehensive form of daily news, supported Joe Biden by a vast margin, 70 percent to 21 percent. David French NYTimes
It’s becoming clear what Donald Trump and Elon Musk have in common, when Musk has said he loves Trump 'As Much as A Straight Man Loves Another Man' on X. It is their unbridled greed that harms anyone on their way to greater fortunes.
Neither Trump nor Musk are populists. It is clear we are seeing two apex predators at work as the 2nd Gilded Age is peaking. They are doing what the Oligarchs who support Trump have always done, preyed on the weakest and most ignorant.
That is why corporate profits are at a post-WWII high, 11.8 percent of GDP, when Trump Republicans want even more tax cuts with the federal budget now 120 percent of GDP. And people without college degrees die about eight years sooner than those with four-year degrees, according to NYTimes David Brooks.
This is why women with only a high school degree or less are five times as likely to have children out of wedlock or women with a college degree. And by the sixth grade, children of poor families are performing at four grade levels lower than the children of affluent families.
These sad statistics cited by David Brooks in a recent NYTimes op-ed are the result of years of tax cuts without paying for them by Republican administrations that has made the red states they govern the poorest states. and resulted in the record federal debt we now have.
Worsening the harm to ordinary Americans, Trump and Musk want to root out DEI personnel and programs that promote greater opportunity and replace them with even less competent personnel, such as Pete Hegseth, JFK, Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard.
In just Donald Trump’s first week in office, it’s becoming obvious that the lies he promotes will be no different than during his first term as president. He is counting on the American electorate who voted for him to not believe what they are seeing, as I said recently—a worsening climate, worsening inflation, less healthcare services, military preparedness, and public education.
These disparities exist mostly in the red states, to no one’s surprise, where essential public services are less available. There is an enormous poverty gap between the red and blue states, and Republican administrations have done nothing to bridge it.
“Some of the chasms are sociological. People with only high school degrees or less are much more likely to say they have no close friends. They are more likely to live in towns where social capital is collapsing and the young are fleeing.”
Why is it so many Americans don’t believe what they see? This is largely due to where they live—the red states.
Thom Hartman of the Hartman Report, a NYTimes best-selling author, says it’s because Republicans worship cheap labor — and having a steady and reliable supply of cheap labor requires widespread poverty.
It is what Trump’s electorate voted for, while:
— Blue states account
for about 71 percent of America’s GDP, whereas Red states only produce 29
percent of our income and wealth.
— The median family income in Blue
states is $74,243. In Red states it’s $63,553. Individual states highlight the
disparity: New Jersey’s median income is $89,703, while Mississippi’s is
$49,111.
— Counties that voted for Biden in 2020 are more
diverse, being 35 percent nonwhite compared to 16 percent nonwhite
populations in counties that voted for Trump.
— Counties that voted for
Biden in 2020 are better
educated, with 36 percent of their population having some college
education compared to Trump’s counties at 25 percent.
— Residents of
Blue states live 2.2
years longer, on average, than residents of Red states. Hartman lists many
more disparities on his website.
Why don’t Trump believers follow political news; news readily available in most mass media? It is why red state economies have foundered, while Trump wants to govern as he did his real estate empire; with family and loyal friends, no checks and balances; which has largely been a failure.
It is why the 2nd Gilded Age will end when Americans—particularly his populist supporters—realize this bromance of two ‘straight’ men will make all of US less safe, healthy, and wealthy.
Harlan Green © 2025
Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarlanGreen
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