She hoped Trump’s victory would change her life, but not like this. I spent days with Ryleigh Cooper, a federal worker who lives in rural Michigan. Please read her story. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... - ThreadSky

emilydavies.bsky.social • 68 days ago

She hoped Trump’s victory would change her life, but not like this.

I spent days with Ryleigh Cooper, a federal worker who lives in rural Michigan. Please read her story.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/27/fired-federal-worker-trump-voter/

Comments

mel2lou.bsky.social•68 days ago

Your story is exploitative of this woman’s pain. Shame on you for trying to drum up clicks for Jeff Bezos.

kristinekenyon.bsky.social•68 days ago

As an IVF mom, her willful ignorance is enraging. I felt gaslit just reading this piece. She’s in deep denial.

gdubba.bsky.social•68 days ago

A lot of people are throwing hate at this woman, but it's important we understand how and why people vote even if we don't agree with them.
And finding satisfaction in her pain is just gross.

sdcasurf.bsky.social•67 days ago

Hard disagree. I've had to endure a decade of 'understand these voters' after they cut off their nose to spite their face.

Am I finding satisfaction? Nope. Am I struggling to give a drop of empathy? You bet.

gdubba.bsky.social•67 days ago

So then what? Tell these people they're forever stained by their decision? Because the MAGA crowd will welcome her back with open arms. Purity tests are why the Left is losing.

sdcasurf.bsky.social•67 days ago

Dude - you're creating strawmen, broad brushing and moving those damn goal posts.

I did not say "forever stained". I said I don't have empathy for them. I'm sure they're good people and can change. But, you live with the consequences of your actions.

I am not the left. I detest purity tests.

gdubba.bsky.social•67 days ago

Then what is your "hard disagree"? That was a reply to my comment, so which part do you disagree with?

figbash.bsky.social•67 days ago

We understand. There were a million of these pieces last time Trump won, too. There's nothing new or interesting here, no lesson to be learned except that some people are perfectly happy to ignore reality and throw other people under the bus if promised something they want.

gdubba.bsky.social•67 days ago

Fair enough.
Let me put it a different way.... We can't save the country from fascism (or whatever label you want to use) if we can't bring these people to our side. Important that we make an attempt instead of shunning them. Otherwise we keep losing.

figbash.bsky.social•66 days ago

And critique for bad decisions is not "shunning" - she's not being driven out of society. She chose to have her sob story printed publicly, and now has to deal with people knowing what she said and did, and finding out that lots of people think she was foolish and maybe also not a good person.

gdubba.bsky.social•66 days ago

Agreed. She deserves criticism. My only point is that she shouldn't be ridiculed to the point that we drive her (and people like her) into the arms of MAGA. The "deplorables" comment was accurate but backfired spectacularly. Let's learn from mistakes.

figbash.bsky.social•66 days ago

Nobody became MAGA because Hilary said something not nice about some of them. They were already MAGA because they hated women, immigrants, etc. and then they got to spend ten years being the subject of fluff like this, milking sympathy for their "economic anxiety"

figbash.bsky.social•66 days ago

She's already in the arms of MAGA. We've seen these people before, a million times over. They're not fleeing to MAGA. They're already MAGA, and just using people doing less than completely coddling them as the excuse.

figbash.bsky.social•66 days ago

First of all, she's not "on our side" but someone who despite clear knowledge of Trump's character and history, decided that a TikTok promise of a shiny bauble was enough for her. She didn't lack resources or knowledge, and she made that decision anyway. She's just sad it hurt her, not others.

gdubba.bsky.social•66 days ago

We need these people to vote *on our side* next time. And free IVF is not just a shiny bauble. Of course she was an idiot for believing him, but she was desperate. I'm not going to defend her vote, but we will need these people's votes if we ever want to take back power.

figbash.bsky.social•66 days ago

The offer "from Trump" on Tiktok was indeed a shiny bauble - and reasonable adults could, should, and DID know this. I've been through IVF as well. I have been desperate. Being desperate for a baby is an absolutely ridiculous excuse to vote for someone she already knew was very bad.

jhkayejr.bsky.social•68 days ago

Hard pass. She was 100% fine with throwing millions of people under the bus as long as it meant she could save a few bucks on IVF treatment.

gdubba.bsky.social•67 days ago

Hard pass on what? Trying to understand her? So your strategy is just shut out all these potential allies?

grannysgarden.bsky.social•67 days ago

They are not allies and never will be

jhkayejr.bsky.social•67 days ago

No, I’m saying that, from experience, this type of voter is far less likely to be an ally than many other types of voters. The money and effort should be spent on those much more likely allies. If there’s time and money left over, sure, we can try to persuade low-IQ selfish voters like this one.

gdubba.bsky.social•67 days ago

She struggled with the decision, even in the voting booth. Seems like an easy convert.
We can't immediately dismiss *anyone* if we want to get back to a voting majority.

jhkayejr.bsky.social•67 days ago

If someone witnessed the racism, economic disaster, erasure of trans persons, mishandling of the coronavirus epidemic, total embrace of project 2025, and the January 6 insurrection and was still like, I could really use a couple hundred dollars off IVF, I don’t necessarily want them as an ally.

robertgravesla.bsky.social•67 days ago

Womp womp, Ryleigh.

neilturkewitz.bsky.social•68 days ago

Thanks for writing Emily. These are times that try our humanity, and our capacity for compassion. Life is complex. Sometimes that complexity is wonderful, and sometimes it is painful. But finding and treasuring the human is vital.

totesnhose.bsky.social•68 days ago

Local woman sad that she voted to hurt OTHERS, not herself. Zero empathy earned.

donnayoungdc.bsky.social•67 days ago

Selfish/foolish Trump voters like Ryleigh Cooper - who were only concerned with THEMSELVES & not anyone else when they cast their votes - need to be told EVERY DAY how their vote ruined MANY Americans' lives, handed the U.S. to Putin & will end up KILLING many people.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/health/usaid-contract-terminations.html

donnayoungdc.bsky.social•67 days ago

NOBODY should feel sorry for Ryleigh Cooper or any Trump voter. They're the worst ones for thinking their actions shouldn't come with any consequences for them.
Trump voters - every single stupid one of them - made it easy for Putin. But now they want sympathy because THEY ruined their own lives. NO

donnayoungdc.bsky.social•67 days ago

STOP making excuses for Trump voters. They CHOSE to believe the horseshit or were too LAZY to seek truthful information - many still.
Trump told them OVER & OVER what he'd do. But now that it's hurting Trump voters' lives, they're all like, but wait, it was supposed to happen to "them" - not me.😒

altusfs.altgov.info•67 days ago

Thanks for your reporting here.

tatertot1381.bsky.social•68 days ago

Would be great if it wasn't paywalled

wadeglas.bsky.social•67 days ago

Click the blue link above the picture.

tatertot1381.bsky.social•67 days ago

I did - I'm not a WaPo subscriber so I can't read it.

wadeglas.bsky.social•67 days ago

I’m not a subscriber either but I clicked the blue link above the box with the picture and I could read the whole article. I don’t know. 🤷🏼‍♂️

tatertot1381.bsky.social•67 days ago

Strange. I just tried it again twice and no dice. Thanks anyway!

wadeglas.bsky.social•67 days ago

Sorry to hear that. The short version of the story is that she believed that Trump was going to do good things and found out that was never the plan. She got fired from the forestry service and now she’s screwed.

noname999.bsky.social•67 days ago

Why didn't you ask why she thinks Trump will be for free IVFs when she knows he is a misogynist and a rapist?

Why didn't you ask why didn't she know about IVF expansion coverage for federal employees under Biden?

Why didn't you even ask if she'll vote Dem next time?

danicaliu.bsky.social•67 days ago

so she wants to be a mom. did you ask about her thoughts on trumps family separation policies? what does she think about moms who can’t be with their kids thanks to trump? does she feel any remorse over the impact of her vote on anyone besides herself?

danicaliu.bsky.social•67 days ago

what were her main issues in the election? it sounds like they were issues that impacted her directly. has this experience expanded her ability to empathize with other victims of harmful policies? is she going to change her decision making process in future elections?

rcbingham.bsky.social•68 days ago

thanks Emily. jarring piece...and so poignant - desperate to get out of her small town, family full of republicans she can't be honest with, hope with a federal job. And hooked by the Trump promise of free IVF. The democrats need to figure out how to reach voters like Emily.

jhkayejr.bsky.social•68 days ago

No one is going to reach selfish braindead voters like this. They’re a lost cause. Energy should be spent elsewhere.

csherbak.bsky.social•67 days ago

I hear what you're saying, but she's not braindead & no more selfish than people wanting abortion to be legal single-issue-voting for Harris were. Unlike many who voted 3 times for Trump, she voted for Biden & then chose Trump, after being lied to, over Harris. 1/2

csherbak.bsky.social•67 days ago

She noted food prices were an issue as well. I wonder, tho, how likely she would have voted for Biden again. I don't think we'll EVER know how many "The eggs are too spendy!" was a cover for "I'll never vote for a black woman..." I think her wish for free IVF was just too enticing. 2/2

skylarjordan.bsky.social•67 days ago

You can't compare this to a pro-choice Harris vote. Harris wasn't wanting to break up families or undo the Constitution or take away gay marriage or side with autocracies. It's incomparable. You are the problem, Chris, with your "both sidesisms" You are a Nazi sympathiser and a enemy of America

ivanasstaircam.bsky.social•67 days ago

Looks fascinating. Unfortunately I won’t share anything from The Washington Post. They normalized a treasonous criminal back into the White House and then profit off of the fallout.

figbash.bsky.social•67 days ago

My heart bleeds for this woman who (checks notes) . . . decided to vote for Trump because she saw a TikTok promising free IFV.

skylarjordan.bsky.social•67 days ago

She got what she deserves, what she voted for. No sympathy for this evil woman

lisalove420.bsky.social•67 days ago

I can't read her story because it's paywalled.
I'm not giving Bezos money so I can read your article. Sorry.

I guess I'll have to assume that Ryleigh is really sad and that she regrets her vote. If there's info I'm missing it's because Bezos is a greedy asshole. 🤷🏻‍♀️

wadeglas.bsky.social•67 days ago

Click the blue link above the picture.

lisalove420.bsky.social•67 days ago

Both the link and the thumbnail are paywalled.

jhkayejr.bsky.social•68 days ago

I don’t think it’s fair to say that I have zero sympathy for people like her. It’s a little more accurate to say that I’m pretty satisfied with her outcome.

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