There will be impacts from President Trump’s promise of $5,000 and better treatment for service members at Camp Lejeune if voters deliver Republican wins in the upcoming election, the author writes.
By Jacob Brooks
Beacon Media
Watching the President of the United States manipulate and try to bribe Americans for their votes is, at best, disorienting.
The promise of $5,000 to every American conditioned upon Republicans taking the U.S. House and Senate in the upcoming election on November 3 is cruel and malicious.
Millions of Americans are desperate right now. Grocery and utility bills are ballooning. Housing costs are borderline unbearable, and it feels like we are on the brink of another great job displacement with the specter of A.I. replacing American workers and little leadership from Washington to ease people’s fears.
Working-class Americans are particularly vulnerable. And “leaders” like President Trump prey on the vulnerable.
Before my mother passed away at 40 in 2011, she made about $9 per hour at Tri-State Components in Sparta as a shipping manager. My father was making $18 per hour at Riverside Log Homes as a construction laborer. That came to $56,160 a year before taxes. Like all working-class families, our financial mantra was, ‘we’ll make it work.’
As is common in working-class homes across America, my brother and I also kept jobs and worked for our father throughout middle school and high school to help make ends meet.
If $10,000 were dangled in front of my parents by the President of the United States — particularly when we were struggling with everyday expenses and driving back and forth to Forsyth Hospital for my mother’s chemo treatments — there is no doubt in my mind my parents would be motivated to vote for Republicans. The $10,000 would be immediate relief.
Regulations and policy packages aimed at relieving the working class’s economic strain would seem too distant and vague. And let’s face it, that’s because any proposals promising to bring costs down and put money in people’s pockets are far off.
People all over America are looking for a miracle. President Trump is offering a mirage.
In the same vein, the president tied a new, perhaps even more disgusting promise to Republican victories when he addressed a crowd in Greenville, N.C., on October 20. Standing around 100 miles from the historic Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune, he said those who have cancer and other health conditions as a result of contaminated water on the base from the 1950s through the 1980s would receive compensation.
While more than $1 billion in claims have been settled, lawsuits under a federal law designed to compensate victims still remain active.
“If we win the House and the Senate, I am directing the Department of Justice to settle all remaining legitimate claims as soon as possible and get it off the books and get it finished,” Trump said, according to the Military Times. He later said: “If we don’t win, there’s no money. If we do win, you’re getting it.”
This is inhumane. This is a horrific display of manipulation and deceit. He’s like an ex-lover who keeps your hopes up while knowing he’ll break your heart. This is far from the kind of presidential leadership we expect. We deserve far better.
I can already anticipate President Trump’s self-absorbed, blame-shifting, vengeful, and tyrannical rhetoric post-election if his party loses: “The Democrats who didn’t vote for Republicans cost every single one of you $5,000. Such a shame.” Or, “Now that the Dumbocrats are in charge, there will be no more payouts from settlements to military families.” Say what you will, but he’s a master at leaving moves for himself on the chessboard.
The spirit of division in our country is growing. As Americans, we must demand more from leaders at every level of government. At the very least, we deserve their respect and to be treated with dignity. Not as rats desperate for crumbs or Wal-Mart-shoppin’ pawns.
I’ll be totally honest with you. I don’t know what I would tell my parents if we were in the same desperate situation and this election was upon us. There’s nothing wrong with hard-working people believing in miracles — miracles do happen, but not because a rich guy dangles false promises to hold on to power. They happen because communities come together and do the work to make them happen.
Jacob Brooks is from Ennice, N.C., in Alleghany County. He’s an entrepreneur, writer, comedian, and advocate currently based in Greensboro, North Carolina.