A marine veteran, an IRS employee who voted for Trump, was fired and now demands they are rehired. The MAGA bubble may be bursting.
Trump-voting veteran fired from IRS.
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Summary
The video follows the story of Gabriel D’Alatri, a Trump-voting Marine veteran and former IRS employee who voted for Trump but was later fired due to Trump’s budget cuts and anti-government policies. D’Alatri, along with Congressman Joe Courtney, is now advocating for reinstating the thousands of veterans who lost their federal jobs. Despite Trump’s claims of supporting veterans, his administration’s actions have left many struggling. D’Alatri’s experience highlights the broader betrayal of working-class and veteran supporters who were misled by Trump’s rhetoric but ultimately suffered under his policies.
Key Points:
- Voter Miscalculation – Many Trump voters, including veterans like D’Alatri, assumed Trump’s policies would only harm marginalized groups, not themselves.
- Trump’s Anti-Government Agenda – The administration’s job cuts disproportionately affected veterans and federal employees, despite their service.
- False Promises to Veterans – Trump claimed to support veterans but pursued policies that weakened VA services and eliminated jobs many relied on.
- Economic Harm to Supporters – While focusing on culture wars, Trump’s policies benefited the wealthy while hurting working-class Americans.
- A Call to Action – D’Alatri and other affected workers are fighting for reinstatement and urging others to recognize the real consequences of electing leaders based on rhetoric rather than policies.
Progressive Perspective
Gabriel D’Alatri’s story is a cautionary tale of how Trump’s populist rhetoric masked policies that ultimately harmed his own supporters. His administration weaponized prejudice to distract from economic exploitation, cutting jobs and programs that many of his voters needed. As D’Alatri fights for reinstatement, his experience serves as a powerful wake-up call: Trumpism is a tool for the wealthy, and working Americans must reject it to build a government that truly serves the people.
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When voters cast their ballots based on prejudice rather than policies, they often end up electing leaders who exploit their grievances without offering real solutions. This was the case with Donald Trump’s presidency, a tenure defined by division, performative cruelty, and economic policies that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy at the expense of working-class Americans—including many of his own supporters.
A stark example of this phenomenon is Gabriel D’Alatri, a Marine veteran and former IRS employee who voted for Trump but found himself among the thousands of federal workers fired under Trump’s administration. D’Alatri, like many others, believed that Trump’s rhetoric on government spending and federal jobs wouldn’t affect him. Instead, he assumed the cuts would target “other” people—those he had been conditioned to resent through years of right-wing propaganda. However, the reality is that Trump’s economic policies, tax cuts, and federal workforce reductions were never about helping everyday Americans; they were about consolidating wealth and power among the elite.
The Deception of Trump’s Populism
From the start, Trump’s appeal to many working-class voters was built on resentment rather than policy. He strategically scapegoated marginalized communities—immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and advocates of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—to channel voter frustration away from systemic economic inequality and toward cultural grievances. This tactic allowed him to gain support from individuals who would ironically be among the hardest hit by his policies.
Trump’s mantra of “draining the swamp” was never about removing corruption from government; it was about gutting regulatory agencies, slashing public services, and reducing oversight to benefit corporate interests. His tax cuts overwhelmingly favored the wealthy and large corporations while ballooning the national deficit. The funding shortfalls created by these tax cuts were then used to justify cuts to federal programs—including the jobs and services many of his voters, like D’Alatri, depended on.
The Fallout: Veterans and Federal Workers Betrayed
One of the most glaring contradictions of Trump’s policies was his administration’s treatment of veterans. While Trump frequently claimed to support the military and those who served, his actions told a different story. His administration sought to privatize parts of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), making healthcare access more difficult for veterans. Additionally, many veterans who found stable employment in federal agencies, including the IRS, suddenly faced job losses as Trump’s austerity measures kicked in.
D’Alatri, who oversaw IRS facilities in Connecticut, never imagined that the anti-government rhetoric championed by Trump would lead to his own firing. The administration’s push to shrink the federal workforce under the guise of fiscal responsibility disproportionately affected veterans, many of whom had been recruited for government positions precisely because of their discipline and experience. The very people who had served their country were now deemed expendable in Trump’s bid to slash government spending—except, of course, when it came to military contractors or tax cuts for billionaires.
The Ultimate Betrayal
D’Alatri’s story is significant because it highlights a broader pattern of betrayal that Trump’s supporters often fail to anticipate. Many assumed that Trump’s policies would only harm those they had been conditioned to see as undeserving—immigrants, urban communities, and social justice advocates. However, the reality is that the same government services they relied upon—public sector jobs, veterans’ benefits, and economic assistance programs—were just as vulnerable to Trump’s budget cuts.
While Trump and his allies successfully stoked outrage over DEI initiatives and transgender rights, they simultaneously advanced economic policies that stripped resources from working-class Americans, veterans, and rural communities. As D’Alatri himself admitted, he didn’t realize that his own livelihood was on the chopping block until it was too late.
Lessons for the Future
D’Alatris is now advocating for the reinstatement of thousands of veterans who lost their jobs due to Trump’s cuts. While his efforts are commendable, they underscore a painful lesson: Political choices have real consequences. Trump’s presidency was never about empowering the working class or veterans—it was about maintaining power through division and deceit.
The challenge for progressives moving forward is to highlight these contradictions in a way that resonates with voters who have been misled by right-wing propaganda. Democrats must continue amplifying real stories like D’Alatri’s, demonstrating that policies, not culture wars, determine economic security. They must also push back against the false narratives that paint government services as unnecessary while simultaneously delivering tangible benefits to communities that have been neglected.
If there is any silver lining to D’Alatri’s experience, reality can break through even the most deeply ingrained propaganda. Those who once cheered for Trump’s economic policies are now reckoning with their consequences. The question is whether they will continue to fall for the same empty rhetoric—or will they finally demand leadership that prioritizes the needs of working Americans over the whims of the ultra-rich?
D’Alatri’s ultimatum for Trump is clear: reverse the damage, reinstate veterans, and recognize the value of federal workers. But history suggests that Trump is unlikely to listen—unless voters decide they’ve had enough of being used as political pawns.
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