Trump's 'counterproductive' chaos turbocharging resistance in his own base: analysis

President Donald Trump's "counterproductive" policies regarding immigration and global trade have turbocharged resistance against his administration in rural America, according to a new analysis.

Bob Davis, co-author of a book on Trump's trade policies with China, argued in a new guest essay for The New York Times that Trump's push to deport illegal immigrants and upend trade relations with China has caused severe economic harm to rural cities like Hickory, North Carolina. In turn, local advocates say there is growing resistance to the Trump administration among youth, a demographic that Trump did well with in the 2024 election.

"President Trump has held up these towns as a symbol of all that’s gone wrong with the American economy," Davis wrote. "His attacks on globalization and on China, in particular, resonate with voters and power his 'America first' agenda. The president has sought to restore American manufacturing by imposing sky-high tariffs and empowering an aggressive deportation force. But if you spend any time in Hickory, you can see how counterproductive these policies are."

Davis spoke with Ginny Romero, the executive director of Centro Latino, who said she has never seen local youths so energized to vote in November.

“I have never seen youths so ready to vote, and not just youths — every age group, every generation," she said.