Working-Class Anger Fuels Trump’s Popularity in Wisconsin

Working-Class Anger Fuels Trump¹’s Popularity in Wisconsin

JANESVILLE, WISCONSIN—

The campaign to collect more delegates on the road to the Republican nomination² for U.S. president winds its way through the state of Wisconsin, home of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s appeal to working-class voters is easy to see in the industrial town of Janesville, which is also Ryan’s hometown.

Standing³ in line among thousands hoping to see Donald Trump at the Janesville Conference Center was a last-minute decision for accountant William Collett. 

The presidential candidate he’ll vote for in the Wisconsin primary April 5 also will be a late decision.

“Well, as of this morning I’ll be voting for Trump,” said Collett.

One of the biggest reasons is Trump’s views on curbing⁴ foreign trade agreements.

“Look at the NAFTA program that was voted in by politicians," Collett said of the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed into law in 1993. "And they darn well knew that jobs were going to jump the borders.”

This is a primary concern for many in Janesville, home to a massive General Motors assembly plant that has been idle for almost a decade. 

The plant's closure put thousands out of well-paying jobs and changed the lives of many in this working-class town of roughly 64,000, which reflects a large part of the Republican electorate⁵.

“Many of them were once Democrats⁶. Their fathers worked on the line in industrial America. They had a nice house in the suburbs. They make the kind of money the upper working class used to make in the '50s and '60s. They look back on that life and they wonder where it went,” said John Sharpless, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Sharpless is a former Republican candidate for Congress who narrowly lost his election in 2000. He said Republican Party leadership has misjudged working-class voters for several election cycles.

“I think they are a hurting group, and they’re an angry group, and they feel rejected by the Democrats, and then they felt they were rejected by the Republicans, and Trump has tapped into that anger,” explained Sharpless.

Charlie Luiting, 21, said he’s most impressed by Trump’s credentials⁷.

"He’s kind of the epitome⁸ of an American businessman. I kind of like that," said Luiting.

But there’s another name on Luiting’s radar⁹: Ryan, who went to school with Luiting's mother. If Republicans are split among candidates and go to a brokered¹⁰ convention in July, there's speculation¹¹ the House speaker could emerge as the party's nominee¹².  

"If Paul was in the race, I would vote for Paul just because of my personal connection with him. I trust him. He’s honest. Straightforward," Luiting said.

Sharpless said Ryan could be a strong contender as the Repblican nominee: "If he somehow magically became the candidate, I think he’d be a very serious rival for Hillary Clinton.”

Ryan, who served as running mate to the GOP's 2012 nominee, Mitt¹³ Romney, has said he believes the nominee should be someone currently in the race.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 curbing   

n.边石，边石的材料v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Progress has been made in curbing inflation. 在控制通货膨胀方面已取得了进展。
• A range of policies have been introduced aimed at curbing inflation. 为了抑制通货膨胀实施了一系列的政策。

5 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

8 epitome   

n.典型，梗概

参考例句：

• He is the epitome of goodness.他是善良的典范。
• This handbook is a neat epitome of everyday hygiene.这本手册概括了日常卫生的要点。

9 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

10 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

13 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。