Many Trump voters cite corporate greed and market structure, not the president’s policies, for rising costs, though concerns persist ahead of midterms.
DENVER: Many voters who supported President Donald Trump blame structural economic issues, not his administration, for the high cost of living.
In interviews with 20 Trump voters, a majority staunchly supported the president despite affordability concerns ahead of next year’s congressional midterms.
Ron Dailey, a 63-year-old Trump voter from Denver, rates the president an 8 out of 10 on handling living costs.
“There’s nothing the president has a magic wand on,” said Dailey, who believes Trump’s tariffs and deregulatory agenda will eventually lower costs.
Nearly three-quarters of Trump voters approved of his handling of the cost of living in a recent Reuters-Ipsos poll.
That figure represented a 10 percentage point jump from a smaller November survey.
Republicans nonetheless fear economic vulnerability with independents more skeptical of Trump’s policies.
Eight voters reported rising prices at restaurants and grocery stores, especially for meat and coffee.
Eleven noted dips in gasoline costs in their areas.
Several complained Trump’s tariffs were inexpertly deployed, unnecessarily raising prices.
Loretta Torres, a 38-year-old mother of three near Houston, gave Trump an 8 but said tariffs made holiday shopping harder.
“I would definitely hope to see those tariffs go down and improve over time,” she said.
Gerald Dunn, a 67-year-old martial arts instructor in New York, rated Trump a 6 on affordability.
“Don’t just throw tariffs out there just for no reason,” Dunn said.
“That hurts the economy because uncertainty breeds anxiety.”
Most voters blamed private companies and macroeconomic factors for high costs.
Don Jernigan, a 75-year-old retiree in Virginia Beach, rated Trump a 4 for not checking oligopolies.
“The small guys are totally regulated out of the system,” Jernigan said.
David Ferguson, 54, in Georgia hoped Trump would cap profits in fields like health insurance.
A common refrain was that the president lacks immediate power to lower costs.
Kate Mottl, 62, of the Chicago suburbs, rated Trump an 8 and was “very optimistic” about his economic leadership.
“There’s just so much he can do in the almost a year that he’s been in office,” she said.
Will Brown, a 20-year-old student in Wisconsin, blamed Biden-era spending for inflation but gave Trump a 7.
Fixing the high cost of living is “easy to say, but it’s hard to do,” Brown said.
