He outperformed the last two candidates with African Americans but underperformed all of the previous republican candidates. It's almost like the two elections with Obama had something different about them...

He certainly got up there and said that, yes. But now he has to deliver on it. And so far, mostly what he's delivered is tax cuts to his super-rich friends, and trying to take away the health cover which was the most tangible thing Obama contributed to the working class. As predicted by so many people, he's just another millionaire saying "I'm one of the ordinary people".

It's weird how these working class people are voting for a (likely) billionaire that doesn't empathize with them in any way. He ran on taking away their healthcare, and really tried to do it. He ran on lowering taxes for the rich and corporations and he has delivered. The only thing he really said he would improve for working class americans is coal jobs, which he failed (and will continue to fail to) bring back. Nothing else that he does or wants to do will benefit them in any way.

There's no explaining the primaries and his winning (other than a glut of opponents splitting the votes between them), but he won the general election also in large part because of 'hold-your-nose' support from single issue pro-lifers

I don't know what working-class characters in sitcoms has to do with Republican political strategy, but if such sitcoms are almost gone, how do you explain this certainly incomplete list of recent or running sitcoms? The Simpsons, The Middle, Mom, Superstore, Family Guy, The Conners, 2 Broke Girls, Young Sheldon, Speechless, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Mike & Molly, Kevin Can Wait

@CrackpotCrocodile The difference between then and now is that now there are also sitcoms that are significantly more diverse, adding colored, queer and nonbinary people in the cast, and the "Working Class People" Jared is championing here think that any increase in representation for people who aren't them is coming out of what they thought of as "their" pie, so they're throwing a Dudley Dursley-like tantrum every time a movie comes out where the protagonist isn't a white dude.

@Shadur Oh that darn capitalism, giving the customers what they want...

@Shadur really? Can't think of any other reason? I mean, certainly that's a possibility, I'm not taking it off the table, but it seems awfully convenient that the people you happen to be on the opposite side of the aisle from are awful and childish... and therefor worthy of marginalization. Except that they apparently still vote, so I for one am very much concerned with how to return those folks to fold...

@CrackpotCrocodile if I look at the top 15 broadcast tv shows I see Roseanne... and yeah, pretty much just Roseanne (I haven't watched Young Sheldon, you could be right there but Big Bang Theory certainly doesn't make the cut). And Roseanne is a reboot of a show from 20 years ago. You could make the case for police dramas as police officers would arguably meet the definition of working class, but they all take place in New York, Chicago, etc.

@JaredSmith If they don't make the top 15, why should content producers make more of them? Maybe it's because having dozens of shows about the same kind of people gets boring? I mean, if "working class people" is what you want to watch, there are loads of options, I listed a dozen. I just don't see why they need to be the only option.

@JaredSmith Well, if you couldn't even offer another explanation, and admit it's possible, what should we think?

@JaredSmith I don't know, how about it? Got any?

As for the rest, I am describing a phenomenon of cultural irrelevance. Small town America is no longer part of the conversation in the media, except as a punchline. I would be willing to bet that most of the shows you name as counter examples feature service industry workers in big cities rather than say, a factory worker in Cleveland.

Yes. You and Shadur seem to be saying they're crying because they aren't as dominate as they used to be, and I'm saying they're crying because they not only aren't dominate, they aren't even in the game any more. See e.g. the edit to my answer.