Some voters aren't crazy about Trump. But they're supporting him anyway
CBC
The side of the Carney family fridge is covered in the collage you'd expect in a home with two adults, six children, one husky and one black Labrador: school photos, sports schedules, a phone number for the vet and a magnet honouring the household super mom.
The front lawn, on the other hand, has an unusual combination for a Michigan suburb with deep blue-collar roots: one sign declaring a "proud union home" and another backing "Trump Vance 2024."
After voting Democratic in the last two U.S. elections, the Carneys have flipped to supporting Republican nominee Donald Trump this year — not necessarily because they like Trump, the person, but because they're struggling with the cost of living.
"Everything's going sky-high.... It makes me realize how much Trump did for us when he was here, compared to when Biden came in," said Lindsy Carney, 36, a stay-at-home mom married to a tile worker in Warren, Mich., a small city just north of Detroit.
"But, like, some of the stuff he views and he says, I'm like … eh," she added, trailing off and wrinkling her nose.
Americans who vote for Trump are often portrayed as deeply loyal supporters whose feelings won't be swayed by impeachments, indictments, a felony conviction or just about anything he says or does. However, there are voters in U.S. like Carney, who don't necessarily like him, but say they'll be voting for him anyway because they believe he's stronger on the economy and believe he'll make changes that will directly affect their lives.
"There are maybe three groups of voters out there," said Dave Dulio, distinguished professor of political science at Michigan's Oakland University.
"One group, they've made up their mind about Trump — they hate him and that's it. There's another group that is willing to look past his character issues or past statements … and they're voting for him no matter what.
"And then there's that other group that doesn't like him, but is going to hold their nose and vote for him."
Throughout the campaign, the Republican Party has painted President Joe Biden as responsible for the high price of goods.
Inflation soared around the world in 2021 and 2022 as economies around the world bounced back from a pandemic recession. Some analysts warned the Biden administration's pandemic-relief spending in 2021 might have contributed, but it was just one of several nuanced factors.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office cited four key players: the pandemic's supply-chain disruptions, low unemployment, fiscal policy and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Inflation in the United States has since cooled, but the price of food, rent and utilities continues to be a sticking point for voters.
For people like Carney, the complex reasons why prices soared after the pandemic aren't important. She believes Trump will do a better job at improving her family's economic situation because inflation, she reasons, was lower when he was in office between 2016 and 2020 — a common rationale among voters who spoke with CBC News.
