The town living next to Elon Musk’s AI supercomputer | Trump’s America: Working Class
Donald Trump promised to bring prices down, and working-class Americans voted for him in droves. Close to two years into Trump 2.0, who’s getting ahead, and who’s being left behind?
In episode three of Trump’s America, 9News US Correspondent Reid Butler travels from supermarket aisles in Missouri to the Mississippi River and the wealthy coastal enclaves of Orange County.
In Boxtown, Tennessee, families live next door to Colossus, Elon Musk’s AI supercomputer. Residents say the gas turbines powering it are making their community sick. xAI rejects their concerns, saying it uses pollution control technology and the health fears are overblown.
Across the country, the cost of living is a common thread: shoppers putting groceries back on the shelf, a harbourmaster blaming the Iran war for fuel prices, and Trump voters sticking with him despite the pinch. Meanwhile, behind Orange County’s “orange curtain”, the American dream is alive and well, for some.
CHAPTERS
0:00 The cost of Trump’s America
2:55 Elon Musk and the race for AI
3:56 Boxtown: life next to Musk’s supercomputer
5:40 Colossus and the residents’ health fears
7:51 Groceries, gas and the cost of living
8:28 On the Mississippi with Captain John Jary
10:52 Orange County campers: still team Trump
11:25 Independence, Missouri: the persuadable voters
12:48 Rich and red in Orange County
14:50 Two years in: how’s Trump doing?
15:37 Next week: The True Believers
▶ Episode 1, Trump’s America: The Divided States: https://youtu.be/Qm1WGWiJDf0
▶ Episode 2, Trump’s America: The Content Wars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3us7v1rika4
▶ Next week, the finale: Trump’s America: The True Believers
Trump’s America is a four-part digital documentary series from 9News Australia, following US Correspondent Reid Butler across a divided nation in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections.
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