“If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they’d still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific.” This statement comes directly from Donald Trump in his 1998 interview with People magazine, and he was spot on with his predictions. In the 2016 general election, President Trump prayed on the 50 least-educated counties along with high-income, medium educated counties as he won 42 out of 50 counties and 47 out of 50 counties, respectively. From Mr. Trump’s statement and performance, it is evident that he was aware of the paradox that lies within the Republican party, this is, the paradox of the socioeconomic conditions of the Republican party constituents. The Republican Party seems to be the party of contrasting echelons, consisting of constituents being in the low income, low education echelon and high income average education echelon. This paradox may seem to be harmful and wrong; however, this can assist in unifying and finding common ground in smaller, rural towns like DeWitt, Iowa where there is a drastic difference in the socioeconomic conditions between neighborhoods. For example, residents of Scenic Hill Lane and the Trailer Park have vastly different socioeconomic conditions as Scenic Hill Lane screams white collar workers that are educated while the Trailer Park displays the images of blue-collar workers with low education levels.
