I think the group he is referring to is my parent's demographic, working class Americans in factories. Whereas the Democratic party once supported labor moveme

I think the group he is referring to is my parent's demographic, working class Americans in factories. Whereas the Democratic party once supported labor movements and unionization as a primary cause, social welfare and rights issue have moved to be the primary (Please note this is a generalization, but mirrors their perspective). The result is that they see a candidate who promises isolationist policies (Keep our manufacturing jobs here, as they've seen them go to China and Mexico for decades) as a more viable candidate than one who continues to drive for more globalization. In passing, I'd like to note that my father actually preferred Cruz, which may match your description slightly better, while my mother preferred Trump largely for the reasons I listed above.