The Intern Diaries: Who's Still With Trump?

A trip through middle America during US election season, revealed to Dateline producer Ronan Sharkey why Republican nominee Donald Trump has been able to appeal to a sense of hopelessness in the region.

Dateline producer Ronan Sharkey at a Donald Trump rally in Akron, Ohio.

Dateline producer Ronan Sharkey at a Donald Trump rally in Akron, Ohio. Source: SBS Dateline

Producer Ronan Sharkey and reporter Dean Cornish's story on the US election looks at how people in the Rust Belt of America are deciding who to put their vote behind.

With Republican nominee Donald Trump promising to put out of work steel workers back into jobs and revitalise the industry, many former Democrat voters are considering turning to Trump.

"It was absolutely fascinating," Ronan tells Jeremy Frost in this interview. "We went to small towns, specifically places that were hurting economically, where traditional, old industries had collapsed - things like steel manufacturing, coal mines."

"There are lots of people in these areas, they call it the Rust Belt for a reason. These people thought they had jobs for life and now all of a sudden the rug has been pulled."

"When hope starts to vanish, it really impacts how people behave."

Ronan says the current election is particularly interesting and unique, because both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, are some of the least popular presidential candidates there has been.

"One of the most common things you hear from people when you ask, 'who are you going to vote for?' is 'I don't want to vote for either of them'."

"There's a lot of disillusion with Washington."



Watch Ronan's full story here:


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Dateline is an award-winning Australian, international documentary series airing for over 40 years. Each week Dateline scours the globe to bring you a world of daring stories.
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2 min read

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By Jeremy Frost


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