Who Voted for Trump?

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Matthew 4:14-15

so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
¹⁶ the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

(ESV)

Logic would tell us that the Son of God would have spent his time on earth with the elite religious leaders of his time.  This, however, is another example of human logic which is not how God thinks.  Instead, Jesus, the Son of God chose to dwell and pick his disciples from among the ordinary people of Galilee. 

In the time of Christ, Israel was divided into three geographic areas, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.  Not only was there a geographic division but each of these regions had its own distinct culture.  Archaeological evidence has now revealed that those inhabiting Galilee during the time of Christ were immigrants from Judea.  The term Galilean seems to be used as a pejorative meaning outsider or someone not an old Jew of the traditional sort.  (1)  In the United States this is like someone being called a redneck living in fly-over country.  However, Jesus did not consider them second-class citizens and demonstrated that by choosing Galilee as the place he would do most of His ministry and choose his disciples from among the Galileans. 

While many in the United States were shocked at the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency, if we look at who voted for him, there should be little shock.  Much like the despised people of Galilee, many in the United States felt forgotten by the political elites that have held power in government and saw in Donald Trump a Washington outsider who empathized with their situation and had the strong leadership skills to enact changes in government that addressed their situation.  Those that elected Donald Trump are,

1)      Joe the plumber – In 2008 a little-known plumber encountered presidential candidate Barack Obama during a campaign stop in Ohio.  The encounter went viral and became a topic of one of the presidential debates.  (2)  Joe the Plumber represents tradesmen across the nation who are plumbers, carpenters, auto mechanics etc.  As an accountant and writer who is a bumbling idiot when it comes to these trades, I am thankful for men and women working in these trades.  Unfortunately, however, the political elite in Washington DC, and Democrat nominee for president Hillary Clinton, considers these people deplorable.  (3)  In Donald Trump, these hard-working people saw someone who honored their contribution to our society.

2)      Mike the miner – In the 1980’s I had a job working in inventory control for a company selling tires to mines.  My employer had consignment inventories at these mine sites and part of my job duties were to visit these mines to conduct inventories.  I had an opportunity to see how hard these individuals work and heard stories from these miners about the dangers in their jobs.  These miners are motivated to do these jobs despite the dangers because they make it possible for us to have steel to make cars, and coal to produce energy.  Unfortunately, however, the political elite in Washington DC views their labor as destructive to the environment and pile onerous regulations on their industries threatening, and even promising, to do away with their jobs.  (4)  These people voted for Donald Trump to save their jobs, which is most likely why Donald Trump won in states like Pennsylvania.

3)      Steve the steel worker – Steel working, once a major industry providing jobs for steel workers living in the “rust belt” has been in a decline for many years.  (5)  This decline is mostly fueled by an increase in steel produced in China where the industry is government-owned.  Donald Trump campaigned on a promise of tariffs on steel imports.  While this seems logical because it cuts into profits on foreign steel, it could lead to higher prices for steel and items made from it.  However, Donald Trump also campaigned on reducing corporate taxes 20 percent by reducing the rate from 35% to 15%.  This reduction in taxes will make it possible for U.S, steel companies to once again begin producing domestic steel competitively.  Tax breaks coupled with tariffs on foreign steel will make it possible to keep steel prices at their current levels as domestic steel companies can profitably produce steel at current prices.  Steel workers, especially those in Pennsylvania voted to create steel jobs that have been lost. 

4)      Al the accountant – It is not only blue collar workers who voted for Trump but also white collar workers like Al the accountant.  In September of 2016, McDonald’s announced its intention of outsourcing 70 white-collar professional jobs to foreign H-1B visa workers.  (6)  McDonalds is not alone in this move towards firing U.S. citizens in favor of hiring H-1B immigrants.  (7)(8)  In a campaign speech in Coral Gables Florida, Donald Trump promised to end the H1-B Visa program.  (9)  Like Joe the plumber, Al the accountant along with other professionals voted for Donald Trump to protect their jobs from replacement by foreign H-1B employees. 

5)      Frank the farmer – The Obama administration rule restricting use of small waterways by farmers has been ruled by the farmers largest lobbying group as dangerous.  This ruling places streams, ponds, wetlands, and other waterways under the regulation of the Clean Water Act.  (10)  These additional regulations mean that farmers will be required to conduct environmental impact studies and acquire the acquisition of additional permits for water necessary for growing crops.  These additional costs will most likely put small farms, already operating on slim profit margins, out of business and mean higher prices at the grocery store for everyone. 

On Election Day, we witnessed the rising up of ordinary Americans at the polls propelling Donald Trump to victory.  These are the very people whose hard work throughout the history of the United States have made America Great.  Donald Trump campaigned with the theme of “Making America Great Again,” This message resonated with these hard-working Americans who want to make America great once again through their hard labor. 

America has grown to be a great nation and super power not due to its government but due to the hard work of American citizens.  With the election of Donald Trump, the United States has an opportunity to once again be restored to its position of greatness in the world.  It is therefore time for us all to work with the incoming Trump administration and make America great once again. 

1. Travelujah. Who were the "Galileans" in the Days of Jesus? www.travelujah.com. [Online] Travelujah. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://www.travelujah.com/articles/entry/Who-were-the-Galileans-in-the-Days-of-Jesus-.

2. Youtube. 'Joe the Plumber' Becomes Focus of Debate. www.youtube.com. [Online] Youtube, October 15, 2008. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUvwKVvp3-o.

3. Murdock, Deroy. Hillary apparently doesn’t think very much of her countrymen. www.nationalreview.com. [Online] The National Review, September 12, 2016. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://www.nationalreview.com/article/439969/hillary-clintons-basket-deplorables-trump-supporter-comments-malign-americans.

4. Leahy, Michael Patrick. Hillary Clinton Promise: ‘We’re Going to Put a Lot of Coal Miners and Coal Companies Out of Business’. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, March 14, 2016. [Cited: August 26, 2016.] http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/03/14/hillary-clinton-promise-were-going-to-put-a-lot-of-coal-companies-and-coal-miners-out-of-business/.

5. Gibson, Thomas J. The crisis facing the U.S. steel industry. www.cnn.com. [Online] CNN, March 23, 2016. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/23/opinions/american-steel-industry-gibson-schmitt/.

6. Monro, Neil. McDonalds Hires Foreign H-1Bs, Fires 70 American Accounting Staff. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, September 18, 2016. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/18/mcdonalds-hires-foreign-h-1bs-fires-70-american-accounting-staff/

7. Munro, Neil. Caterpillar Hires H-1B Foreign Graduates, Dumps 300 American Professionals. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, September 6, 2016. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/09/06/caterpillar-hires-h-1b-foreign-graduates-fires-300-american-professionals/.

8. Frankel, Judy. Insourcing: American Lose Jobs to H-1B Visa Workers. www.huffingtonpost.com. [Online] The Huffington Post, July 26, 2016. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judy-frankel/insourcing-american-lose-_b_11173074.html.

9. Riddell, Kelly. Donald Trump vows to end H1-B visa program in GOP debate. www.washingtontimes.com. [Online] The Washington Times, March 10, 2016. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/10/donald-trump-vows-to-end-h1-b-visa-program-in-wash/.

10. Cama, Timothy. Ag lobby: Final EPA water rule is worse than proposal. www.thehill.com. [Online] The Hill, June 11, 2016. [Cited: November 12, 2016.] http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/244750-agriculture-lobby-epa-water-rule-is-worse-than-proposal.