When brash billionaire Donald Trump descended upon Louisville Tuesday, thousands of Kentuckians screamed in support of the Republican candidate famous for his refusal to adhere to political correctness. But if these Kentuckians think Trump has their best interests in mind, they are setting themselves up for disappointment.

Observing a room filled with what seemed like mostly working class Kentuckians, one can’t help but ask: What in the world could this Manhattan billionaire have in common with citizens of a rural, sparsely populated state? Listening to Trump speak, one would think he has everything in the world in common. But a Trump presidency would bring dark days to the people of the Bluegrass State.

Trump’s transparency should be relatively obvious to anyone paying the least bit of attention. His race-baiting, fear-mongering tactics are likely not a reflection of his actual beliefs, but an attempt to rally the white rural conservative base, which is motivated by anger after eight years of a liberal, black presidency.

In terms of actual policy, Trump advocates reinvigorating the coal industry — a highly unlikely prospect considering coal’s rapid decline for years in Kentucky and current regulations by the federal government to limit carbon emissions, of which coal is a main producer. Trump also advocates gutting the Affordable Care Act, which has been more successful in Kentucky than any other state in the country. 

If Trump were elected, he and Gov. Matt Bevin would give Kentucky health care a one-two knockout combination, with Bevin dismantling the state’s online insurance market Kynect before Trump would disband the federal exchange.

Arguably, Trump’s most famous (or infamous) policy position is his view on Mexican immigration. He has called for a wall on the Mexican – American border, which he says the Mexican government would fund.

Kentuckians would do well to realize that migrant workers perform a bulk of labor on Kentucky farms. During harvest season, chances are the hands of a migrant worker from Latin America picked the crops used by most Kentuckians.

Trump may not have spent the majority of his adult life as a career politician, but this in no way makes him more trustworthy, and it does not make him the best choice for Kentucky.

Cheyene Miller is the managing editor of the Kentucky Kernel.

[email protected]