Donald Trump's America

Donald Trump’s surprise, come-from-behind victory in the 2016 presidential race was a wake-up call – for political insiders of both parties and, in particular, for the media. How did Trump win despite his history of bankruptcy, not paying taxes, flip-flopping on issues, attacking decorated veterans like U.S. Sen. John McCain and sexually insulting women? (To name just a few of the criticisms of him.) After Trump took office, Mike Kelly, along with photographer Chris Pedota, hit the road to find out. The only way to understand the Trump victory, they figured , was to study it from the ground up and talk to Trump’s voters. Initially, they selected three states to explore: Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. But they later expanded their reach into Trump voters in so-called “blue” states along the East Coast where Democrats dominated. They found a deeply troubled electorate, from the decaying steel towns along the Ohio River, to the bitter coal mines of Pennsylvania, to the struggling hamlets in West Virginia’s hills where poverty and opioid addition had skyrocketed. What follows here are links to three series – in 2017, 2018 and 2019 – that led up to Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election.