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🎯 OVERVIEW: TRUMP’S BETRAYAL OF THE WORKING CLASS

Across the board, Donald Trump has slashed support for everyday Americans while protecting billionaires and big corporations. Whether it's health care or the economy, public health or Social Security, education or veterans’ care, or support for farmers, Trump’s record is consistent: gut, cut, and destroy.

⛔ GOP Government Shutdown

Key Point: Republicans decided to shut down the government rather than help vulnerable Americans keep and afford their health care insurance.

Here's The Facts
  • Trump and Republicans cut over a trillion dollars from the health care system this summer, and they refused to extend health care insurance tax credits to help the most vulnerable afford care. 
  • If those tax credits expire at the end of 2025 like Republicans want, out-of-pocket premium payments for subsidized enrollees are expected to rise by over 75% on average. In some states, premiums could more than double.
    • That’s a spike in costs for families on top of higher prices for the basics like groceries, energy, and shelter – fueled by Trump’s tariffs. 
  • The Congressional Budget Office projects that about 4 million more people could lose health insurance coverage over time if the enhanced credits expire. 
    • More than a quarter of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers rely on the individual market for health insurance because most family farms and small agricultural businesses do not provide employer coverage. Nearly all of them depend on Marketplace subsidies to make coverage affordable.
  • Funding health care in order to fund the government should be a no-brainer, but Republicans want a government shutdown so they can fire more workers and make even deeper cuts to the programs families rely on. 
  • When Democrats came to negotiate, Trump and Republicans walked away, refusing to even consider funding health care and keeping the government open.  
    • When paychecks are missed, services are delayed, and people feel pain, it’ll be because Republicans refused to negotiate and create a reasonable compromise to keep health care accessible and affordable for families.  
  • Americans deserve better than Republican governance. They deserve a government that functions and health care they can afford.

🏥 HEALTH CARE

Key Point: Trump promised better, cheaper health care. Instead, he slashed nearly $900 billion from Medicaid, the ACA, and vital health programs to fund billionaire tax breaks.

Here's The Facts

💵 THE ECONOMY

Key Point: Trump’s economy is faltering. Jobs are down, prices are up, and small businesses are struggling. His tariffs and policies are fueling inflation and uncertainty, dragging the economy toward stagflation.

Here's The Facts
  • Job growth is collapsing. June and May jobs reports were revised down by a combined 258,000 jobs.
  • Unemployment is rising, and long-term unemployment is at a post-pandemic high.  Inflation continues to tick up each month. CPI for all items rose in August, and in the last year, prices for all items increased 2.9%.
  • Trump’s tariffs are driving up costs and will cost the average American household $2,400 this year – with families facing 40% higher prices for footwear, 38% higher prices for apparel, and a 3.3% spike in food prices.
  • Trump’s tariff taxes will increase the number of Americans living in poverty by between 650,000 and 875,000.
  • Main Street is paying the price. Tariffs, higher interest rates, and policy whiplash are crushing small businesses.
  • Stagflation is back. Growth is slowing down, and prices are rising — a self-inflicted wound caused by Trump’s trade policies and fiscal chaos.
  • Trump’s fake economic “boom” is unraveling, just like his promises.

🏥 PUBLIC HEALTH

Key Point: Trump’s administration has weakened public health infrastructure by slashing funding, delaying vaccine safety reforms, and enabling misinformation, all while measles outbreaks surge and vaccine hesitancy grows.

Here's The Facts

🧓 SOCIAL SECURITY

Key Point: The Social Security Administration is crippled by staffing cuts and operational chaos, making it harder for seniors and disabled Americans to access benefits. At the same time, the administration quietly lays the groundwork to privatize the program.

Here's The Facts
  • Trump’s team is pushing to privatize Social Security. In June, his Treasury Secretary, advisor Scott Bessent, let the truth slip: Trump wants Wall Street to manage retirement accounts, calling it a backdoor to privatization.
  • The Social Security Administration is in crisis. Trump’s administration slashed SSA’s administrative budget, leading to:
  • Longer wait times for benefits processing and appeals.
  • Field office closures in rural and underserved communities.
  • Hiring freezes and staff attrition that have ground customer service to a crawl.
  • Overburdened caseworkers, with many handling double or triple their usual caseloads.
  • Trump replaced experienced SSA leadership with a political loyalist more focused on cutting costs than serving retirees, disabled Americans, or survivors.
  • Low-income seniors are paying the price. Cuts to SSI outreach, disability benefits reviews, and appeal processing are hurting the most vulnerable Americans.

🎓 EDUCATION

Key Point: Trump’s 2025 budget cuts slashed Head Start and public education funding, drained resources from public schools, and rolled back protections. He’s leaving students, teachers, and working families without the support they need.

Here's The Facts

🎖️ VETERANS

Key Point: Thousands of federal veteran workers have been laid off since Trump took office, causing delays and disruptions in critical services.

Here's The Facts

🌾 FARMERS 

Key Point: Trump’s trade wars and tariff policies have slashed demand for American farm products, raised input costs, and deepened financial strain, threatening the livelihoods of rural families and farm workers.

Here's The Facts
  • Trump’s tariffs are punishing American farmers, again. Input costs are rising, exports are falling, and commodity prices are tanking due to Trump’s escalating trade war.
  • Reduced Support for Farmers: Deep cuts to USDA programs have slashed critical financial and technical support that farmers rely on to stay afloat, especially small and family-run operations.
  • Loss of Crop Insurance & Disaster Aid: Funding reductions in crop insurance and disaster assistance programs leave farmers vulnerable to extreme weather and market fluctuations, increasing the risk of financial ruin. 
  • Rural Development Underfunded: USDA cuts have gutted rural development initiatives that build infrastructure, improve broadband access, and support farm communities — making it harder for farmers to operate and thrive.
  • Increased Costs and Uncertainty: With less USDA assistance, farmers face skyrocketing costs and mounting uncertainty, threatening food supply stability and rural economies nationwide.
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