Fewer than half of Americans who voted last November wanted Trump to be president. Most who voted for him were probably aware that he is a spiteful, self-interested billionaire with little regard for truth or decency. They held nevertheless on to their faith that as president he would honor his promises to stick up for “the little guy,” dedicate himself to the public good, and make their lives better.
But just a few weeks into Trump’s presidency, it’s clear that “looking out for the little guy” is not even on the agenda. On the contrary — the initiatives brought forth by Trump’s gang of millionaires and billionaires are upending the lives of people who are already struggling to get by. 
Here in the Arrowhead, for example, dozens of people have been thrown out of their jobs, and hundreds more have been told that they’re next. These are hard-working friends and neighbors doing critical work in our area — maintaining roads, fighting fires, enforcing the law in our national forests and throughout the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. They facilitate visits to the BWCAW, those visits providing a major source of tourism revenue in the area.
With the high cost of groceries and housing in the Arrowhead, families here are already walking a financial tightrope. Being thrown out of work is a disaster; many may be forced to leave the area. And considering the many other contributions these friends and neighbors and their families make to the community — even just through purchases at local grocery, gas, and hardware stores — their loss is a blow to all of us.
And even when one’s job is not directly threatened by Trump’s initiatives, people’s financial survival may be. Many people here work two or three part-time jobs, without benefits, to try to make ends meet. To keep their heads above water, they may need a boost from time to time from federal food assistance programs such as SNAP or WIC. And without employer-provided health benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health care program assistance become a matter of life or death for struggling Arrowhead families. But Trump’s initiatives are curtailing and threatening this crucial assistance. 
Even worse, instead of getting relief from hardship, we have the threat of higher prices caused by Trump’s initiation of foolish trade wars with our closest allies and trading partners. This includes Canada, from which we import everything from groceries to lumber to plants and flowers. Meanwhile, Trump unapologetically and gallingly pronounces that he knows full well that the higher prices caused by his ill-advised trade wars “will cause pain” for ordinary Americans.
The people who voted for Trump didn’t vote for any of this. No one voted for this. People voted for a better America — not for government by the wealthy, with disregard for ordinary people. They voted for bringing back an America where the voice and well-being of the common person actually mattered. Post-election, however, we can see that none of that is in play. We all should be angry about it.
Charles Hathaway
Grand Marais