It must be nice to sit in a climate-controlled CNN studio, debating the merits of whether American workers deserve skilled trade jobs, without a second thought about who made that studio bearable in the first place.

That’s exactly what happened this week, when CNN analyst Nia-Malika Henderson casually dismissed jobs like HVAC installation and repair—along with other skilled trades—as the sort of thing Americans shouldn’t really care about. Her reasoning? That bringing these jobs back to the U.S. might make stock markets in other countries “nervous,” and she questioned whether they’re really “worth it.”

Let that sink in. //

This is the kind of elitism that’s been rotting through the national media for years. They’ll nod along to phrases like “the dignity of work” and “supporting working families,” but the moment actual working-class jobs are on the table—pipefitting, HVAC, diesel mechanics, welders, electricians, machine operators—they wince.

It’s always the same story: Those jobs aren’t “aspirational.” They’re too dirty. Too noisy. Too blue collar. Too real.

Completely set the tariff issue aside. As much as she would want it to really be about those tariffs, she is revealing her fundamental bias against people with working-class jobs. People who don't wear the nice outfits she gets to wear on television while looking down on them. This is also a group of people who largely voted for Donald Trump, and that increases her disdain of them a hundredfold. //

You won’t hear these folks mock a Wall Street hedge fund analyst who makes millions rearranging numbers for a living. But a guy who keeps schools, hospitals, and newsrooms cool in the summer and warm in the winter? Suddenly, that job isn’t “worth it.” //

Let’s be clear about something: Without HVAC workers, that CNN studio wouldn’t just be uncomfortable—it would be uninhabitable. Without truck drivers, no one’s getting makeup shipped to the green room. Without electricians, the lights go out. Without welders, no one has a desk to sit at. Without construction crews, there is no building to broadcast from.

This country runs on the backs of skilled workers—the very people elite media types so often ignore, stereotype, or outright ridicule.

These jobs aren’t beneath anyone. In fact, they’re the backbone of the middle class. And when the media mocks them, they’re not just showing their ignorance. They’re revealing their disdain for the people who keep America running.

When Henderson asked whether these jobs are “worth it,” she wasn’t just questioning economic policy. She was questioning the value of the people who do those jobs.