Trump's spending cuts are hitting communities of his supporters

Summary

Consider This from NPR

Episode: Trump's Spending Cuts Are Hitting Communities of His Supporters
Release Date: May 5, 2025
Host: NPR

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Overview

In this episode of NPR's Consider This, host Ari Shapiro delves into the unintended consequences of President Trump's recent federal spending cuts. Focusing on communities that predominantly supported Trump, the episode highlights how these reductions are adversely affecting local infrastructure, public services, and overall community well-being. Through interviews with local officials, residents, and experts, the show paints a comprehensive picture of the clash between federal budgetary policies and grassroots realities.

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Impact on Rising Sun, Maryland

The episode opens with Calvin Bonenberger, the town administrator of Rising Sun, Maryland, providing a firsthand account of the town's struggles with recurrent flooding. At [01:21], Bonenberger showcases the Sun Valley Mobile Home Park, emphasizing its vulnerability:

"This is all low income housing and the flood level is up to the roof line of all of these properties." [01:21]

Rising Sun had secured two FEMA grants aimed at relocating mobile home residents and upgrading the wastewater treatment system to prevent contamination during heavy rains. However, these funds were abruptly rescinded by the Trump administration, leaving the town in a precarious situation. Bonenberger expresses his frustration:

"Our sewer plant is going to continue to overflow and there has to be money to resolve it. We don't have the money to resolve it. That's what this money is for. This is a no brainer." [02:10]

Despite being a Trump stronghold, Bonenberger criticizes FEMA's decision, labeling the grants as necessary rather than wasteful.

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Trump's Spending Cuts: Broader Implications

Ari Shapiro introduces the broader theme of Trump's rapid spending cuts and their widespread impact, even in areas that supported his administration. A recent NPR-PBS NewsMarist poll cited in the episode reveals that while 91% of Trump voters approve of his job performance, nearly 20% are concerned about the hasty nature of his policy changes:

"Nearly one in five Trump voters said the president is rushing to make changes without considering their impact." [04:14]

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Case Study: Emmitsburg's National Fire Academy

The episode shifts focus to Emmitsburg, Maryland, another Trump-voting community now grappling with the fallout of federal budget cuts. The National Fire Academy, a cornerstone institution in the town, had its classes abruptly canceled in March, severely impacting the local economy and emergency preparedness.

Calvin Bonenberger provides a visual tour of Emmitsburg at [05:48], highlighting the town's reliance on the academy:

"And the first one that I went to see is the mayor, his name is Frank Davis and he's also a captain at the local firehouse... He saw a lot of waste and voted for Trump in hopes that he would root it out." [05:48]

Frank Davis, the mayor and a former federal employee, voices his disappointment:

"If these cuts are permanent, how will you feel about the administration going forward? Yeah, it will change my outlook to say that they're not being fair, they're not taking a good hard look. They're just going in to cut and not caring what they cut." [09:10]

Dennis O'Neill, former superintendent of the academy, warns of the long-term dangers:

"We're on a very long, slow path to self-destruction. Every day that this training is unavailable to the locals is one day closer to a disaster they can't handle or won't know how to handle." [08:44]

Local business owners, like Susan Glass of Odd House pub, express fears of economic downturns:

"We expect a big drop. I've already told a lot of our employees that, you know, it's a possibility they won't have a job for the summer." [09:08]

Democratic figures, such as U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, criticize the administration's decision:

"There's no good explanation for this because this is a cost-effective program that protects the public across America. The cancellation of classes is extremely short-sighted and dangerous." [10:50]

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Public Opinion and Support

Despite the tangible negative impacts, support for Trump remains high among his voter base. Retiree Susan Virginia from Morrison, Colorado, shares her perspective at [04:58]:

"I'm glad that he's moving quickly to do things because his first administration, he didn't know who he could trust and who he couldn't trust."

However, the episode underscores a growing rift between policy implications and voter satisfaction, highlighting the complex dynamics within Trump's support base.

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Conclusion and Reflections

Consider This effectively illustrates the paradox where federal policies intended to streamline government spending are inadvertently undermining the very communities that championed such fiscal conservatism. By weaving together personal narratives, expert insights, and statistical data, the episode underscores the importance of considering local impacts when formulating national policies. It serves as a poignant reminder that well-intentioned budget cuts can have far-reaching and sometimes detrimental effects on grassroots communities.

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Notable Quotes with Attribution

• Calvin Bonenberger: "This is all low income housing and the flood level is up to the roof line of all of these properties." [01:21]
• Calvin Bonenberger: "Our sewer plant is going to continue to overflow and there has to be money to resolve it. That's what this money is for. This is a no brainer." [02:10]
• Frank Davis: "If these cuts are permanent, how will you feel about the administration going forward? Yeah, it will change my outlook..." [09:10]
• Dennis O'Neill: "We're on a very long, slow path to self-destruction..." [08:44]
• Susan Virginia: "I'm glad that he's moving quickly to do things because his first administration, he didn't know who he could trust..." [04:58]
• Chris Van Hollen: "The cancellation of classes is extremely short-sighted and dangerous." [10:50]

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Production Credits

Produced by Connor Donovan and Briana Scott, with audio engineering by Zoe Vangenhoven. Edited by Katherine Laidlaw and Christopher Tallada. Executive Producer: Sami Yenigun.

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This episode of Consider This offers a compelling exploration of the intersection between federal policy and local impact, shedding light on the complexities faced by communities navigating the repercussions of national spending cuts.

Transcript

[Ari Shapiro]

A quick note before we start today's show. You may have heard that President Trump has issued an executive order seeking to block all federal funding to npr. This is the latest in a series of threats to media organizations across the country. Whatever changes this action brings, NPR's commitment to reporting the news without fear or favor will never change. Even as paywalls rise elsewhere, we offer this vital resource to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. This is a pivotal moment. It's more important than ever that each supporter who can contribute comes together to pitch in. Please give as much as you are able. Support the news and programming you and millions of other people rely on by visiting donate.NPR.org and if you already support us by subscribing to NPR or by giving directly, thank you. Your support means so much to us. Now more than ever, you help make NPR shows freely available to everyone. We are proud to do this work for you and with you. Now onto the episode. Calvin Bonenberger is the town administrator of Rising Sun, Maryland. He recently gave NPR a tour of the Sun Valley Mobile Home Park.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

This is all low income housing and the flood level is up to the roof line of all of these properties.

[Ari Shapiro]

He was there with Rebecca Hersher, a correspondent with NPR's Climate Desk, and he was showing her the impact of floods that have hit this area again and again. In 2021, the flooding was so dangerous that people had to be rescued from their homes.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

We're talking about water that was about this high. Yeah, three feet.

[Ari Shapiro]

To help its flooding problems, Rising sun applied for federal funding and won two grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, fema. One to help relocate the mobile home residents and turn the area into a park. And another to fix the town's wastewater treatment system, which overflows in heavy rain, sending contaminated water into nearby streams.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

Our sewer plant is going to continue to overflow and there has to be money to resolve it. We don't have the money to resolve it. That's what this money is for. This is a no brainer.

[Ari Shapiro]

But now the money is gone. The Trump administration canceled the program that funded the grants. That's frustrating for Bannenberger. This area voted overwhelmingly for President Trump and Bannenberger said he supported efforts to cut waste in government spending. He still does, but FEMA now calls these grants wasteful and ineffective. Bonnenberger disagrees with that characterization.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

Guys, this is dangerous. This is the whole reason why you put this funding out there.

[Ari Shapiro]

Consider this. Trump's rapid fire spending cuts have affected communities all over the country, including strongholds of his supporters we'll ask how they're balancing local disruptions against an agenda that they otherwise support. From npr, I'm Ari Shapiro. This message comes from Saatva. Saatva luxury mattresses are made in America by expert craftsmen using the highest quality materials so that your mattress will provide comfortable sleep for years and years. Saatva mattresses are always delivered to your home and set up in the room of your choice. They're never folded and never squeezed into a small box. Visit swatva.com NPR where NPR listeners save an additional $200.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it.

[Ari Shapiro]

For its historical and moral clarity.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

On Throughline, we take you back in.

[Ari Shapiro]

Time to the origins of what's in.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

The news, like president aging and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast.

[Ari Shapiro]

From npr, it's consider this from npr. People who voted for President Trump are generally pretty happy with him. A recent NPR PBS NewsMarist poll found that 91% of Trump voters approved of the job he's doing so far. That's true for retiree Susan Virginia. I'm glad that he's moving quickly to do things because his first administration, he didn't know who he could trust and who he couldn't trust. She's registered, unaffiliated, lives in Morrison, Colorado, in the foothills west of Denver, and she supports the approach Trump and Elon Musk have taken with the Department of Government Efficiency initiative. If you were going to be bankrupt, you would do everything you could to cut the budget.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

We got to cut the budget.

[Ari Shapiro]

We got to stop paying for things.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

That shouldn't be paid for.

[Ari Shapiro]

There's another interesting nugget from that poll. Nearly one in five Trump voters said the president is rushing to make changes without considering their impact. And that brings us to a place that is feeling the impacts of Trump's changes acutely. A small town in Maryland called Emmitsburg, where the vote went for President Trump last year. It's home to the National Fire Academy, the facility for training firefighters in America. In March, the Trump administration abruptly canceled classes at the academy. NPR's Frank Langfit went there to find out how that's affected the town's economy and how people view the administration so far.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

I'm standing next to the lone traffic lights here downtown, the main street. It's lined with a lot of old red brick buildings. And about I have about 3,000 people here in Emmitsburg. And the first one that I went to see is the mayor, his name is Frank Davis and he's also a captain at the local firehouse. And Davis, he spent many years in the federal government and he says he saw a lot of waste and voted for Trump in hopes that he would root it out. Actually, I know I'm probably going to get shot for this, but he is doing what he said he was going to do and I know that's not popular with a lot of people, but being in the government for all those years and seeing the waste and he said he wanted to clean that up, that was very, very attractive to me. But Davis was shaken when the administration targeted the fire academy. He used to work there and says it's well run and efficient. It's also a big part of Emmitsburg's identity. They need to get back up and get the students back here. There are plenty of rocks to look under, but the National Fire Academy is not one of them. Davis says the government is reviewing the academy's operation and he's hopeful classes will reopen soon, especially given the growth in western wildfires. And even nearby, 30 miles to the west of us, we had a 1200 acre mountain fire, wildland fire last week that we've never had anything like that around here before of that magnitude. If these cuts are permanent, how will you feel about the administration going forward? Yeah, it will change my outlook to say that they're not being fair, they're not taking a good hard look. They're just going in to cut and not caring what they cut. Dennis O'Neil served as superintendent of the academy for two decades. He says the academy trained 8 to 10,000 firefighters on campus each year. O'Neill calls it the National War College for firefighters. The National Fire Academy takes men and women out of their comfort zones and they expose them to real serious tragedies and forces them to work through. What kind of decisions are they going to make? What kind of assistance do they need? Where do they get the assistance? If the courses aren't restored, O'Neill says the country will pay. We're on a very long, slow path to self destruction. Every day that this training is unavailable to the locals is one day closer to a disaster they can't handle or won't know how to handle. The Federal Emergency Management Agency oversees the academy, which pays for firefighters to come to Emmitsburg. In a statement, FEMA suggested it had canceled training because of the travel cost quote. The bottom line is we are no longer paying for non employee travel. We're only authorizing travel for mission critical programs. This isn't One. Some of these classes are still available online. My name's John Beck. I'm the fire chief of the Waynesboro Volunteer Fire Department. Waynesboro's just north of Emmitsburg in Pennsylvania. Beck works there as a fire chief for free. He'd applied for a weekend leadership and development course at the academy this summer. Now he's disappointed. So it was pretty exciting to find these classes that, you know, you just can't find anywhere else. Like Mayor Davis, Beck voted for Trump. I think smaller government to me was, was maybe less wasteful spending, but I don't see wasteful spending as training first responders. You know, we're only about 100 plus.

[Ari Shapiro]

Days in and I wish things were going differently.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

But it doesn't sound like you regret your vote. You know, I'm not 100% there yet, but I, it may not take much more. Back in Emmitsburg, the dinner crowd is arriving at Odd House. The family run pub is the watering hole for firefighters in town to train at the academy. Thousands of their fire department patches blanket the walls. One of the managers, Lori Harley, reads a few hi, Juan, City Government Fire Bureau, Seminole County. This is Bath Ironworks from Maine. Firefighters make up more than 30% of the pub's business. Co owner Susan Glass is worried about the long term impact. We expect a big drop. I've already told a lot of our employees that, you know, it's a possibility they won't have a job for the summer. But we're hoping things open back up. Glass also voted for Trump, but thinks he's moving too fast. I agree a lot of things that they're doing, but sometimes I disagree on how they're doing them. Give me an example. Maybe not all at once. Spread it out a little bit. I don't know, it just seems like it's just one hammer after another. Some members of Maryland's congressional delegation have pressed the Trump administration for answers and say they've heard Nothing back. Here's U.S. senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat. There's no good explanation for this because this is a cost effective program that protects the public across America. Van Hollen calls the cancellation of classes, quote, extremely short sighted and dangerous.

[Ari Shapiro]

NPR's Frank Langfit in Emmitsburg, Maryland. You also heard reporting on Trump voters from Benta Berkeland with Colorado Public Radio in Denver. This episode was produced by Connor Donovan and Briana Scott with audio engineering by Zoe Vangenhoven. It was edited by Katherine Laidlaw and Christopher and Tallada. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. It's Consider this from npr. I'm Ari Shapiro.

[Calvin Bonenberger]

Imagine, if you will, a show from NPR that's not like npr, a show that focuses not on the important, but the stupid, which features stories about people smuggling animals in their pants, incompetent criminals, and ridiculous science studies. And call it Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me because the good names were taken. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Yes, that is what it is called. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ari Shapiro]

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[Calvin Bonenberger]

Or you can also support NPR's vital.

[Ari Shapiro]

Journalism and get consider this [e-mail] that's plus.NPR.org.