POOR VOTE, SWING VOTE

On the one hand, this is the worst of times: power is concentrated in the hands of people who pray at the opening of Congress, then prey on the people they swore an oath to serve.

- BY WILLIAM J

But a close look at voter demographics suggests that a small percentage of poor voters who understand what they are losing have the potential to upend American politics.

Over the past four decades, as inequality has grown exponentially for all Americans, the number of poor and low-income white people—66 million in 2018—has swelled higher than any other demographic. This is one reason low-income, majority-white communities became susceptible to the “populist” appeal of the MAGA movement. If white people are hurting, the divide-and-conquer myth suggests, it must be because Black people or immigrants are taking from them.

By leaning into an aggressive investment in extreme ICE raids, President Donald Trump’s Administration has bet the farm on this myth.