Why Do Republicans Foment Hate Between Poor Whites and Poor Immigrants?

There’s no real difference between a poor Haitian in Springfield, Ohio, scraping by on his wits and hard work, and a white MAGA-Man living hand-to-mouth in a box trailer in the woods.

They both stand at the same crossroads, fighting to survive, dreaming of a way out. They may look different, speak differently, but their lives are intertwined in the struggle against a system that’s stacked against them.

They both want the same thing: food on the table, a roof overhead, and a shot at something better than this life that’s been handed to them like a bad deal at a rigged poker table. They’re both being dealt from the bottom of the deck, and the ones dealing the cards— Trump, Vance, Jordan, Robinson —are the same hucksters who thrive on keeping them distracted and divided.

This is the oldest trick in the book.

Keep people fighting each other, and they’ll never notice who’s really pulling the strings. They’ll never see that the real enemy isn’t the guy struggling next to them, but the ones at the top, spinning lies to keep everyone below them clawing at each other’s throats. It’s the same story, over and over again, from the Gilded Age to the Rust Belt, from the plantations to the factories.

A hundred years ago in Matewan, West Virginia, the coal miners saw through the charade. Black, Polish, Irish, and poor white Appalachians realized they weren’t each other’s enemies. They saw the truth: the coal barons were squeezing the life out of all of them. So they put their differences aside, stood shoulder to shoulder, and fought back. They didn’t just talk about it. They took action, built a union, and changed their fate.

That’s the lesson they don’t want us to remember. That’s why they stoke the flames of hate, why they shout about immigrants “stealing jobs” or “taking over.” It’s all smoke and mirrors to keep the poor fighting each other while the rich laugh all the way to the bank.

We’re at a crossroads again, just like we were at the end of World War I, just like we were after Vietnam. Each time, we’ve had a choice: to fall for the same lies or to break free and build something better. After the Great War and the flu epidemic, we burst into the Jazz Age, demanding freedom and fun.

After World War II, we built suburbs and craved stability. After the chaos of Vietnam, we sought solace in the laid-back 70s.

Now we’re here, facing a new choice. Do we keep swallowing their poison, or do we spit it out and unite against the real threat? Imagine what would happen if poor whites and poor immigrants saw through the con, if they turned their anger toward the ones who deserve it—the politicians and corporations who profit from their misery, who use hate to hide their greed.

We have a chance to change the story. We can write a new chapter where people stand together, not divided by lies but united by a common cause. This moment is ours to seize. Let’s not waste it on the empty promises of charlatans who’d rather see us destroy each other than rise up together.

History is watching. The choice is ours.

Will we let hate blind us, or will we finally open our eyes and see who’s really pulling the strings?

We’ve been fooled before, but we don’t have to be fooled again. The power is in our hands, if only we’re brave enough to use it.