Some voters who sent President Donald Trump back to the White House have a pointed message for him ahead of the midterms.
Grocery shoppers who backed Trump in 2024 told The New York Times for a Wednesday report that rising prices have left several of them frustrated, with a retired nurse in Maine telling the president, "you should be taking care of the people in your country."
Rebecca Guerrette, an independent, said she was unhappy with the economy and called the war with Iran a "waste of money." "I think Trump did a better job as president like eight years ago," Guerrette told The Times. She said living costs have climbed in recent years while paychecks have not kept pace, adding that she probably would not cast a ballot in the Senate race between Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Democrat Troy Jackson.
The Times interviewed shoppers in Iowa, Ohio, Maine and Michigan, all home to closely watched Senate races, as consumer prices run 3.7 percent higher than a year ago, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures released Wednesday. Food costs are up 2.5 percent over the same period, with The Times pointing to the Iran war's toll on fuel and shipping costs. The outlet reported that a growing number of Republican candidates are distancing themselves from Trump amid the squeeze.
Trump campaigned on making America more affordable and later told NBC News, "I won on groceries."
Angel Hartmier of Ohio said 2024 was the first election she had ever voted in, and she had hoped Trump would bring prices down. "It was bad before, but now it's way worse," said Hartmier, a single mother of three. "I am very disappointed, I thought things would change." She said she was unsure about the midterms. "I might vote again, because I want things to get better," she said. "But I did it for the first time and it all went sideways."
Jessy Hakizimana, who owns an excavating company in Iowa, said he now hunts for coupons, something he never used to do. "I don't think he has lowered prices for anything," he said. Of his 2024 vote, he said, "It's too soon to say I regret it. But so far, it doesn't look good."
Not every voter has turned. Carolyn Calcutt, a retired teacher in Michigan, said Trump was doing an "amazing" job on the economy, while Dan Ratliff from Ohio described it as "humming along."
White House spokesman Matthew Middleton defended the Trump administration's economic record, saying the president had a strong pro-growth agenda.