Long lines at the food pantry: Inflation tests Trump’s base in Michigan

CAPAC, Michigan – On a recent snowy morning in a Trump-loving part of rural Michigan, three dozen cars idled outside a firehouse-turned-food pantry. Inside, volunteers packaged lettuce, apples and other household staples that have surged or stayed high in price this year.

Ms Taylor Ludwig, a 35-year-old mother of three, lined up in her pickup truck well before the pantry’s 10am opening in the town of Capac, seeking the kind of help she hoped would not be necessary when she voted in 2024 for President Donald Trump, who campaigned on lowering prices.

Ms Ludwig said she had expected Mr Trump to have made greater progress on inflation nearly a year into his presidency. But the cost of basics such as cereal, fruit and vegetables ‍remains painfully high.

While Ms Ludwig blames the ​high cost of living on Democratic former president Joe Biden, the Republican-leaning independent said the party could lose her vote in next November’s congressional elections if Mr Trump does not move faster to fulfil his 2024 campaign promise.

“I’m not just gonna follow along somebody like a sheep,” she said ‍of her current backing of Mr Trump. “I will follow you until I know it’s not okay to.”

Mr Trump swept rural Michigan on promises to ease the cost of living. But now, persistent inflation is testing that pledge – and the patience of voters who helped put him in office.

Their frustration could ripple far beyond Ms Ludwig’s corner of the state, threatening Republican hopes in the midterms and giving Democrats an opening in a state that will help decide control of the Senate.

Ms Ludwig was among 19 Trump ​voters Reuters interviewed in Capac and other parts of ​St Clair County, which has grown steadily more Republican in recent years, backing Mr Trump by 66.5 per cent of the vote in 2024.

St Clair runs along Michigan’s eastern edge on the Canadian border, linking the blue-collar river city of Port Huron with a patchwork of farms and small towns connected by two-lane highways.

The county’s population of 160,000 is predominantly white. Car suppliers and other manufacturers anchor parts of the local economy, but limited access to high-paying jobs means many residents feel left behind economically.

Inflation has cooled in 2025 in the Detroit metropolitan statistical area, which includes St Clair County.

In August – the latest month with available data – the region’s all-items price index rose just 0.7 per cent annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as an 8.3 per cent drop in petrol prices offset a 9.4 per cent surge in fruit and ‍vegetable costs.

Nationwide, inflation is running at roughly a third of its mid-2022 peak of more than 9 per cent, easing to 2.7 per cent in November, but that headline figure masks sharp increases in everyday staples such as beef, coffee and orange juice, which have climbed at double-digit rates this year.

Meanwhile, an AI-driven investment boom has begun to

strain the nation’s power supply

, pushing electricity prices in the US up 6.9 per cent in November, the ​largest year-on-year increase since April 2023.

Most of the 19 people interviewed said they still blame Mr Biden for inflation, and all pointed to a drop in December in petrol prices as a positive development ⁠under Mr Trump.

Half said they or their families were struggling to make ends meet, including a Marine veteran, a disabled man and several retirees living on social security checks.

Four told Reuters that if inflation and other economic conditions did not improve by next November, they could see themselves giving Democrats a serious look. A dozen said they would still vote Republican, and three said they were unsure or did not share their voting plans.

Mr Bob Benjamin, a retired auto worker, said he came to the food pantry to pick up groceries for his adult grandchildren, who are struggling to keep up with the cost of food, rent, healthcare and car insurance.

While he voted for Mr Trump in 2024, Mr Benjamin said he would consider voting Democrat in 2026 depending on economic conditions.

“I would probably vote the way the conditions are going. If he’s doing good, if you can see it coming out of a hole, then I give it two more years,” he said. “But if it’s starting to go back down again, well maybe we need ​a little change.”

Economists say there is little a president can do to quickly bring down prices and note that Mr Trump’s tariffs raise import costs that are largely passed on to consumers.

Mr Trump has not said how he will lower prices and has pointed to tax cuts passed by Congress that are set to take effect in January. The White House says Mr Trump

will hit the campaign trail in 2026

to emphasise the economic benefits of his policies.

White House spokesman Kush Desai ‌said the administration was working hard to address the “generational economic crisis” caused by Mr Biden, who he accused of dismissing or ignoring inflation.

“The reality is that Democrats still have no actual solutions for everyday ​Americans,” Mr Desai said in a statement.

‘Price hike Mike’

Democrats plan to make rising prices central to their 2026 election campaign, sensing a vulnerability as Mr Trump downplays the “affordability” issue, calling it a Democratic “hoax”.

Mr Trump’s statements worry Republican Party strategists, who say they could make him appear out of touch and prompt some of his supporters to sit out the election.

Still, most of the 19 interviewees were unaware of Mr Trump’s comments on affordability, although only a few agreed with his assertion that the economy is booming and inflation is under control.

“I think he’s doing an amazing job as far as the economy goes,” said Ms Kerry Ange, a county commissioner in St Clair.

Mr Darryl Kalich, an out-of-work field service technician whose red truck displays a Semper Fi sticker honouring his military service as a Marine, said he regretted his vote for Mr Trump.

Mr Kalich said he was upset by Mr Trump’s focus on foreign policy, citing the president’s

threats against Venezuela

and recent bailout of Argentina.

Mr Kalich, who says leaders of both parties are equally detached from the problems facing everyday Americans, is unsure how he will vote.

Michigan Democrats are already working to tie Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers squarely to Mr Trump on inflation, branding him “Price Hike Mike” in press releases and across social media.

Ms Mallory McMorrow, who is running in a four-way Democratic primary to replace retiring Senator Gary Peters, said if she wins the party’s nomination she will make criticism of Mr Rogers on high prices a focal point of her campaign.

“The opportunity in the general (election) is to, frankly, pair Mike Rogers with Donald Trump: wealthy guys who don’t know what groceries are, who don’t understand the real challenges that people face in cost of living,” she told Reuters.

Mr Rogers, who has reported assets between US$6.7 million (S$8.7 million) and US$13.5 million, rejected this criticism in an interview, saying his working-class background attuned him to the needs of everyday Michiganders.

He predicted Mr Trump’s tariffs would ‍bring back high-paying manufacturing jobs and boost wages above the rate of inflation.

Political tribalism

Mr Trump’s approval rating

edged down to 39 per cent

in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week as some Republicans soured on his handling of the economy.

His approval level on the cost of living was just 27 per cent, with 61 per cent of Republicans rating him favourably on the issue, down ​from 69 per cent earlier in December.

Approval on cost of living was significantly lower among Democrats, at 5 per cent, and stood at 16 per cent among independents, a crucial group for both parties in competitive races.

The stark divide reflects political tribalism: an in-group loyalty long present in US politics but which has intensified in the age of Mr Trump.

For Democrats, that meant downplaying the impact of inflation on everyday Americans while Mr Biden was president. And for Republicans, that can mean believing that a policy like tariffs, which many economists argue is damaging the economy, ​will prove beneficial in the long run.

“You don’t want to believe that your party, which you value and which is important to you, is doing the wrong thing,” said Professor Christopher Federico, who teaches political science and psychology at the University of Minnesota.

In Port Huron, freighters move steadily along the ‌St Clair River, highlighting the area’s industrial and economic significance, even as downtown retailers lament a drop in business from Canadian tourists who are staying away amid trade tensions and Mr Trump’s threat to make their country the 51st state.

Ms Mareesa Buterakos, 44, said the high price of meat and the potential impact of tariffs on tequila were among the challenges she faced as she tries to revive the Zebra Lounge bar and restaurant in Port Huron.

She said she was not ready to blame Mr Trump yet, but wants to see progress soon.

“We didn’t get here overnight, and so we just have to have some grace,” Ms Buterakos said. “He’s been in office for ‌a minute now, I would really like to see him speed it up.” REUTERS