U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) traveled to Johnstown, Pennsylvania (population 18,411), where he asked repeat Trump voters if they would be interested in “Medicare for All” and a five-percent tax on billionaire wealth. Khanna says his proposal would raise more than $4 trillion over ten years and “rebuild the middle class.”
As seen in the three-minute video below, taken from several meetings with local residents and members of United Steelworkers, many said yes. Those featured included Trump voters who complained that they voted for Trump because they wanted and expected change, but as one put it, “I voted for Trump but I ain’t gonna do it again.”
He added, “He’s got big ideas, but he’s not doin’ nothin.”
In Johnstown, PA, voters told me Trump is their JFK because he represents change. They also support Medicare for All, no foreign wars, and taxing billionaires.
Status quo Democrats won’t win back the country. People want America’s Next New Deal. pic.twitter.com/rO6SFg4MQY
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) August 12, 2026
The video includes clips of a speech Trump delivered in Johnstown while campaigning in 2016, and his promise to bring the steel industry back to the town. Trump said, “We are going to bring prosperity back to Johnstown. Your steel will come back.” Khanna said of the President’s promise, “He did not deliver.”
Built in 1852, Cambria Iron Works
in Johnstown is one of the oldest steel plants. It become Bethlehem Steel in 1923. After the mills closed in 1992, over 12,000 workers lost their jobs.Trump promised to bring steel back to Johnstown. He did not deliver. My Steel Modernization… pic.twitter.com/vwmEorlSNz
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) August 1, 2026
[NOTE: Johnstown, which had a population of 28,087 in the 1990s, was severely affected by the closing of steel plants in that decade. Today, 34.2% of the population are living below the poverty line.]
Khanna wrote: “In Johnstown, PA, voters told me Trump is their JFK because he represents change. They also support Medicare for All, no foreign wars, and taxing billionaires. Status quo Democrats won’t win back the country. People want America’s Next New Deal.”