I am just a naturalized American, but living the American dream, however there are many Americans who are not. And I especially empathize with those in metals & manufacturing whose middle class jobs were exported to China by elites in both parties.
This disconnect in perception seems to be generational. Older folks look around and say “I worked hard and achieved the American Dream, so other people can too”.
Younger folks see that there has been wage stagnation in the US for their entire lives, combined with inflation in all sorts of areas, especially housing, and see a whole different picture. The game seems rigged against them before they even get to play.
I worked in aerospace for 19 years after leaving the USAF. It all went away in an unbelievably short period with the "peace dividend" group think. The handwriting was on the wall long before the jobs went though.
The people I know that made it adapted and overcame. They went from making cruise missile to GPS trackers and doing bio-medical research. They moved to where the jobs are. In many cases that was half way across the country.
Some went through entire career vocational changes, they took the risk to go back and get educated for new skills rather than wait for someone to tell them what to do.