Samall Town News Today

>> to say folks here are proud of their town is an understatement, and theyre no fan of the recent headlines about it. this is beattyville, kentucky, one of the poorest, predominantly white towns in the country. more than half of the people here live in poverty and rely on food stamps. less than a hundred miles from here is where president lyndon johnson declared the war on poverty just over 50 years ago. >> this administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in americ...

♪ >> susan isnt convinced, though, president trump will bring the town what it needs. >> he makes a lot of promises, says a lot of things that sound great to some people who may not have as much insight into it as they could have or they should have. >> her concern, cutbacks in social programs here. >> those are resources that we need more of. we dont need to lose what we have. >> i dont think that trump has a clue about the little man. you know, when youre born wealthy, and everythings been h...

I mean, some even ecstatic that we now can say president trump. >> reporter: president trump won more than 80% of the vote here. >> everybody was excited. someone told me this morning that in eastern kentucky, that the coal trucks are already out and about. >> reporter: donna kumer has been running this gas station for about a decade and knows about everybody in town. do you feel hopeful after the election? >> absolutely. hes already done more in a week than obama did in eight years. >> reporter...

So badeyville doesnt use the next generation. >> losing our young people, have to leave after their graduate high school, leave college. they have to leave here. we need good paying jobs to keep them here. they dont expect to make a million dollars. my american dream, to raise my family in a safe environment in a samall town. i think thats what people here want. theres not opportunities here for children, no. thats what i worry about. >> when jobs leave, i said before, its difficult to bring the...

>> do you make enough to get by? >> not without working seven days a week, no. ive lived here my entire life. ive lived in poverty my entire life. so theres really no hope. >> youre young, melissa. none? >> every week, youve got to rob peter to pay paul. had my electric shut off, ive had my water shut off. >> do you get a sense that people here are more hopeful now because of the new president? >> it seems like people are, but, its kind of almost like wishing on lost hope. because its been this ...