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By Tim Marcin
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During the 2016 election campaign, Donald Trump, a Republican, often shouted to crowds that he represented the forgotten man, the middle class worker struggling to make ends meet.
That forgotten man even appeared in his Inauguration Day speech, during which he promoted his aggressive reimagining of America, a nation he claimed was chock-full of "carnage."
"The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer," Trump said to a crowd of disputed size. "And I will fight for you with every breath in my body, and I will never, ever let you down."
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Trump blamed the forgotten man's plight on the swamp in D.C.
"Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth," he said during the speech. "Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed.... That all changes starting right here and right now."
Despite these words, just 42 percent of Americans in a new Pew Research poll released Tuesday feel as though Trump's party truly cares about the middle class. Fifty-seven percent, meanwhile, said Democrats care about the middle class. Fifty-four percent said Republicans are "too extreme," while 45 percent said the same for Democrats.
Neither party was viewed all that favorably, however. Just 40 percent viewed the Republican Party as favorable, while 54 percent had an unfavorable view, according to Pew. The Democratic Party fared slightly better, at 44 percent favorable and 50 percent unfavorable. The president didn't fare well in the poll, either. Pew pegged his approval rating at just 39 percent, with 55 percent disapproving.
The poll interviewed 2,504 U.S. adults from June 8 through June 18 over the telephone. The full sample had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
Studies have shown the middle class is shrinking. A Pew study last year found that the number of American adults living in middle-income households fell from 55 percent in 2000 to 51 percent in 2014. The median income of a U.S. household actually fell 8 percent from 1999 to 2014, according to Pew.
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