During Donald Trump’s presidency, he made several proposals that would significantly affect lower-income Americans. Reports indicate that he attempted to increase rent for over 4 million low-income individuals, including many elderly and disabled persons. He also sought to reduce federal disability benefits for around 250,000 low-income children, arguing that other family members were already receiving benefits. Trump proposed a policy requiring poor parents to cooperate with child support enforcement to receive food assistance, which would have involved single mothers disclosing intimate personal details.
Trump aimed to implement a rule permitting employers to keep workers’ tips and successfully enacted a rule denying overtime pay to millions of low-wage workers earning more than $35,568 annually. Throughout his campaign with vice presidential pick JD Vance, Trump has claimed to prioritize the working class, vowing to protect them from immigrant labor, bring back manufacturing jobs to the U.S., support rural areas, and advocate for families with children.
Critics have pointed out Project 2025, a blueprint for a potential second Trump presidency, which suggests slashing the social safety net for lower-income families and offering considerable tax concessions to the wealthy. Trump, however, has distanced himself from these plans, despite associations with its authors.
Reflecting on his first-term actions, Trump advanced policies across his administration aimed at reducing support for health care, food, housing programs, and worker protections for impoverished Americans. Analysis of his proposed budgets and regulatory changes from 2018 to 2021 shows a consistent pattern of targeting programs for those of low and modest income, exceeding the reductions proposed by previous presidents.
Although Trump controlled both the House and Senate during his early presidency, efforts to pass his agenda were hindered until later in his term, partly due to initial unpreparedness for office. He used budget reconciliation opportunities to enact tax cuts favoring the wealthy and attempted, unsuccessfully, to repeal Obamacare.
Moving forward, Republican leaders have indicated that, given renewed control, they would merge tax cuts with significant reductions in social spending, and Trump is likely to propose new regulations early in any second term. His first-term proposals included substantial cuts or eliminations to programs like the Children’s Health Insurance Program, free school lunches, Pell grants, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, among others.
While he did not dismantle the Affordable Care Act, Trump modified aspects of it, leading to a rise in uninsured Americans. President Joe Biden has reversed many of these changes, but Trump could potentially reinstate them, especially with legislative support in Congress.
Throughout his presidency, Trump endeavored to reduce the civil service, potentially affecting programs that rely on federal employees to provide essential services to poor and working-class Americans. His campaign has not responded to inquiries regarding whether his second-term policies would differ from his past actions. Social Security and Medicare protection is highlighted, alongside plans to eliminate taxes on tips.
During the pandemic, relief efforts, such as stimulus checks initiated under Trump’s administration, temporarily reduced poverty rates, though these were not part of his governing agenda. Reports indicate a surprising lack of scrutiny into Trump’s first-term budgets and proposals concerning high-poverty communities during the current presidential race.
Questions remain on whether Trump would continue initiatives to alleviate the IRS’s disproportionate auditing of low-income taxpayers or defend Biden’s reforms to welfare. These issues have not been prominent in campaign discussions, with more focus traditionally placed on the middle class.
