Does MAGA Know It Yet?

A story at The New Republic claims that Trump voters are starting to feel that pain economic conservatives and libertarians have been trying to warn them about.

Of course, this being a leftist outlet, the focus is on things the left doesn't like and would wrongly bash Trump for anyway, like cuts to welfare state programs.

Nevertheless, things that do deserve opposition are being felt, according to the story:

A stunning Fox News poll just found that a majority of white men without a college degree oppose the ["Big Beautiful"] bill. Crucially, these voters make up "the heart of Trump's base." Even Trump's own pollster just bluntly suggested that Trump voters are feeling betrayed. On top of all that, Trump supporters again and again have been horrified to learn that his deportations are victimizing immigrants they like. And the tariffs are already hurting Trump country. So how badly are his working-class voters getting hit? [links omitted]

There are, of course, things in Trump's BBB that people should be unhappy about, such as the trillions of debt it is going to pile on, in part from the Senate's failure to end energy subsidies carried over from the Biden BBB.

The story, which points to a podcast on the same subject, mentions tariffs and the war on immigration, and I'd add that other news points to those two about to slam everyone with higher produce prices.

Despite Trump's utterances about exempting farmers from work raids, those are scaring off workers in California, either because Trump is lying or inconsistent, or word isn't getting out:

"In the fields, I would say 70% of the workers are gone," [farmer Lisa Tate] said in an interview. "If 70% of your workforce doesn't show up, 70% of your crop doesn't get picked and can go bad in one day. Most Americans don't want to do this work. Most farmers here are barely breaking even. I fear this has created a tipping point where many will go bust."

...

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a Republican and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said an estimated 80% of farmworkers in the U.S. were foreign-born, with nearly half of them in the country illegally. Losing them will cause price hikes for consumers, he said.

...

Over a third of U.S. vegetables and over three-quarters of the country's fruits and nuts are grown in California, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The state's farms and ranches generated nearly $60 billion in agricultural sales in 2023.

...

"If they show up to work, they don't know if they will ever see their family again," [an immigrant farmworker] said.

Just wait until shortages and tariffs on the imports needed to cover this avoidable shortfall hit the produce aisle.

We're all going to feel the pain, but will Trump voters admit the source of the problem?

I'll believe it when I see them leaving their red ball caps at home, and hear a few complain about Trump.

-- CAV