This Small Pennsylvania Town Explains the 2024 Election

Plain English with Derek Thompson

The Ringer

News Commentary, News

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, a close look at the history of a Pennsylvania town and how that history contains within it the story of the 2024 election. In September, Donald Trump claimed that the city of Charleroi, Pennsylvania, was being overrun by immigrants who brought violence, gangs, and economic destruction. Last month, The Atlantic's George Packer went to Charleroi to report on what's actually going on there, and how the issues most important to Charleroi—nativism, immigration, change, working-class decline, and corporate greed—are also the deciding issues of the 2024 election. If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at [email protected]. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: George Packer Producer: Devon Baroldi Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Did you know that scientific studies have found most people lie once every 10 minutes?
0:08.9	In my new podcast, Truthless, I'm talking to people about the lies, they tell,
0:14.4	from faking illnesses in high-pressure moments to making up stories on national TV. From Spotify and the Ringer podcast network,
0:25.1	I'm Brian Phillips. Listen to Truthless on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:47.6	Today, a closely-time-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-tall-t. Today, a close look at the history of one Pennsylvania town and how its story contains within it the story of the 2024 election.
0:51.4	During the presidential debate several months ago, Donald Trump famously suggested that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs and otherwise terrorizing the people of Springfield, Ohio.
1:03.6	In September, at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, Trump continued to claim that Haitian immigrants were destroying the country.
1:12.4	This time, he turned his attention to a town called Charleroi.
1:16.6	Charleroi has experienced a 2,000% increase in the population of Haitian migrants under Kamala Harris.
1:25.0	The schools are scrambling to hire translators for the influx of students,
1:29.8	and the town is virtually bankrupt.
1:31.8	In other comments, Trump continued to call out Charleroi as a place overrun with gang-fueled violence.
1:38.3	Last month, the Atlantic's George Packer went to Charleroy to figure out what was actually happening there,
1:45.2	and whether Trump's comments had any semblance to reality.
1:49.4	The immigrant influx in this part of the country is undeniable.
1:53.5	Thousands of Haitians have moved to the area,
1:55.8	and they have transformed the city's racial composition and its economic trajectory.
2:01.3	There is this unfortunate tendency in the news media to represent immigration
2:05.4	as something simple, a simple benefit, or a simple destructive force.
2:11.7	My personal view, which I've never tried to hide on this show,
2:14.8	even as I've brought in some guests who disagree,
2:18.3	is that immigration is a profound economic blessing, and arguably the secret ingredient of America's
	...

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