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When Donald Trump returned to the White House, many of the people who had once supported him found themselves blindsided by the very changes they had voted for. Among them was David Pasquino, a former Veterans Affairs employee who had believed Trump’s pledge to make government more efficient. Instead, he lost his job. “They are literally taking a chainsaw to the government when they should be using a scalpel,” he told Business Insider.
Pasquino’s story is not isolated. Across federal agencies, workers who once saw Trump as a leader who would defend national security, strengthen the border, and revive the middle class now feel abandoned. The firings of thousands of civil servants under the influence of Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative have left many struggling with regret and uncertainty.
A Vote That Felt Different, Until It Wasn’t
For many employees, Trump’s 2016 and 2024 campaigns promised a return to order: a secure border, a stronger military, and a revitalized economy. Those priorities resonated with workers at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Weather Service, and other agencies that saw themselves as guardians of the public good.But the administration’s sweeping layoffs have revealed a different agenda. “I feel betrayed. This is not what I wanted, to let everybody lose their job,” one VA employee told reporters. “You’re fired. You’re fired. You’re fired. This is not The Apprentice.”
The sense of betrayal is not simply about lost employment. It is about realizing that votes cast in good faith have been used to undermine the very institutions that safeguard Americans’ health, safety, and security.
The Outsized Role of Elon Musk
Part of the shock came from Musk’s unexpected role in shaping government. Appearing in the Oval Office beside Trump and translating his ideas on X into federal directives, Musk had become, in the words of one worker, “not the president, but running the show.”Even voters who admired Musk’s achievements in private industry question his authority in government. “The public sector does way more than worry about money and being efficient,” a National Weather Service employee explained. “We have lives to save and functions to perform that don’t necessarily make money but are extremely important.”
Here lies one of the deepest long-term dangers: replacing the ethic of public service with the profit-driven logic of private business risks hollowing out institutions that protect lives rather than balance sheets.
Broken Promises, Fractured Trust
Some employees admit they dismissed early warnings. One worker recalled trusting Trump when he distanced himself from Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation blueprint for reshaping government. But after Trump appointed one of its authors to a key budget role, they watched proposals they once believed were too extreme become reality.“I said, ‘I’ll believe Trump, he won’t do everything in there,’” the worker explained. “But then all of a sudden, everything is starting to come true.”
This erosion of trust carries profound consequences. Public institutions depend on credibility and continuity. If civil servants feel expendable and citizens believe promises are empty, the result is a government less capable of attracting talent, maintaining stability, and serving the people.
The Human Cost of Political Experiments
Marcia, a 67-year-old federal worker, thought she was voting for a stronger middle class. Instead, she was fired. “If I knew I was going to lose my job because Trump became president, no, I would not vote for him,” she said. A lifelong Republican, she describes feeling misled by her own party for the first time.Her story highlights how Trump’s approach is reshaping not only careers but lives. Mass layoffs of civil servants reverberate through families and communities, creating financial precarity that contradicts campaign promises to uplift ordinary Americans. Over time, these disruptions erode the collective expertise of government agencies, leaving them less able to respond to crises, from natural disasters to veterans’ healthcare.
What This Means for America’s Future
The administration defends the cuts as necessary to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. Trump’s deputy press secretary claimed the president is focused on improving Americans’ financial situations by streamlining government. But workers on the ground describe something far different: a toxic culture of fear, where efficiency has become a buzzword to justify dismantling essential services.If this trajectory continues, the long-term impact may be devastating. A weakened civil service undermines disaster preparedness, food safety, environmental monitoring, veterans’ healthcare, and countless other protections Americans rely on every day. Once lost, expertise takes decades to rebuild. Meanwhile, the precedent of outsourcing governance to private industry further corrodes the line between public interest and corporate profit.
Reflection
As one worker said, “This is just the most toxic environment I’ve ever seen.” The stories of Pasquino, Marcia, and others are more than just tales of personal betrayal; they serve as warnings. If America disassembles the very institutions meant to serve and protect, the costs won’t be paid by politicians or billionaires in fancy ballrooms. They’ll be borne by the people who believed—and by the country they aimed to save.
The government should work for the people, not against them. When loyalty is rewarded with betrayal, it is time to ask who truly benefits. If this resonates with you, we encourage you to reflect, speak out, and demand accountability before more livelihoods are sacrificed. Tell your story here.
About Snark Knight LLC
Snark Knight LLC exists as a journalistic project to tell hard truths with courage, wit, and clarity. Through projects like Trump Betrayed Me and Moral Cowardice, we document stories of betrayal, expose failures of leadership, and celebrate acts of moral courage. Our belief is simple: truth matters, cowardice corrodes, and stories can still spark change.
👉 Read the original reporting and documentation here.