Now that Donald Trump is president, he has more work to do than he may realize.
Polling among young people, especially minorities, shows that they are deeply concerned about their futures under his administration. Many of them fear work toward racial justice will be set back, and that their economic futures will be diminished during his term in office.
Those concerns are based on Trump’s campaign rhetoric and on the people he has tabbed for cabinet positions.
A poll conducted by GenForward of Americans aged 18 to 30 found the country’s young adults are more likely to expect they’ll be worse off at the end of Trump’s first term than better off. They are also more likely to think Trump will divide the country rather than unite it, by a 60 percent to 19 percent margin.
Fifty-two percent of young whites, 72 percent of Latinos, 66 percent of Asian Americans, and 70 percent of blacks think Trump’s presidency will lead to a more divided nation.
The poll is considered a first of its kind survey. It was conducted by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It pays special attention to the voices of young adults of color, highlighting how race and ethnicity shape the opinions of a new generation.
Overall, the poll found that 54 percent of young people say life for people of color will be worse with Trump as president.
Young people of color are significantly more likely to think they will be worse off than better off, while young whites are more split in their personal expectations.
Those numbers should be alarming to the new administration because they show the country already is divided, particularly along racial and generational lines.
That is reinforced by the fact that Trump lost the popular vote by almost three million people, and that the majority of his supporters were white, middle- and working-class voters.
So far, Trump has said little to inspire confidence in young voters, and many voters, even Republicans, have expressed concern about his picks for cabinet positions. So far, most of those picks have been far right, pro-business nominees who are not proponents of a large role for the federal government, especially in social programs.
Trump will have to learn the art of political tone and learn when to turn off his Twitter account if he truly wants to make an attempt at uniting the country.
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People aren't listening, what has Trump been saying for 18 months.
Robert Palmer may be reached at 256-740-5720, or robert.palmer@TimesDaily.com. Follow on Twitter @TD_RobertPalmer.