What Republicans talk about when they talk about the 'working class'

Democrats think of the working class as essentially the working poor. Republicans mean an entirely different set of voters.

The working class.
(Image credit: Illustrated | iStock)

Ever since Donald Trump seized control of the GOP, Republicans have been talking about turning themselves into a "worker's party."

From the start, Democrats have treated the aspiration as absurd — at best delusional and at worst a cynical marketing ploy. Sure, the Trump administration started several trade wars and embraced intentional cruelty on the southern border to discourage immigration. But neither yielded any measurable benefit for American workers. Meanwhile, the only major legislative achievement of the past four years, passed when the GOP controlled the presidency and both houses of Congress, was a massive corporate tax cut. When it comes to representing and advancing the interests of the working class, the Democrats remain the only game in town.

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Damon Linker

Damon Linker is a senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is also a former contributing editor at The New Republic and the author of The Theocons and The Religious Test.