WARSAW ¨C Donald Trump shocked the world in 2016 when he was elected U.S. president, winning swing states in America¡¯s Rust Belt, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that have traditionally backed Democrats.
Much the same story played out in November. The country¡¯s former industrial heartland overwhelmingly voted for Trump and his promised to ¡°make America great again.¡± According to exit polls, a majority of working-class people in key states ¡ª those who did not attend college and earn between $30,000 and $99,999 per year ¡ª backed Trump. That was true of white, Latino and Black voters.
This trend is not confined to the United States. In June, 57% of workers voted for the far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) in the first round of the French parliamentary election. And in September, 50% of workers supported the populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) in the country¡¯s general election, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 46% of workers¡¯ votes in the Brandenburg state election.
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