PORT HURON, Michigan – They’re coping with high prices at the gas and diesel pumps and at the supermarket, but the MAGA faithful in this key battleground state remain firmly supportive of President Donald Trump.
In conversations with nearly 20 Michigan voters who waited in line for hours to attend a Trump rally in this small city on the shores of Lake Huron, voters made clear they’re sticking with Republicans in the midterm elections and view all Democrats as “socialists.”
“He has our best interests at heart. He loves our country and he is doing the right things for us to get back on track,” Carol Mocan of Warren, Michigan told Fox News Digital.
As they fight to hold their slim House and Senate majorities, Republicans are fighting political history, as the party in power in Washington has traditionally lost seats during midterm election years. The GOP also faces a challenging political climate fueled by persistent inflation tied in part to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s increasingly negative approval ratings.
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Trump stood at 36% approval in the latest Fox News national poll, his lowest level ever in a Fox News survey. But among self-described MAGA voters, the president’s approval rating remained at a sky high 95%.
“I know that Trump is always out for America’s interests first. And that’s what I really like about him,” Bay City resident James Blake said.
Linda Taggart of Marysville called the current high prices “short term pain for long term gain…. We see the long term goal and we support that.”
Port Huron resident Bob Kemp said Trump is getting the U.S. back on course following four years of Democratic control in the White House under former President Joe Biden, noting “whenever you’re fixing something, it always gets worse before it gets better.”
Another Port Huron resident, Michael Bacheller, said the affordability issue wouldn’t impact his vote in the midterms.
“I think it’s kind of a small price that we have to pay temporarily, and I think that’s how Trump’s, you know, putting it, and I can agree with that,” he said.
Asked if she blamed Trump for high prices, Judith Troy of Port Huron said “yes and no, you know, because he’s doing what he has to do. Which causes, you know, prices to go up and that, but he’s doing it for a good cause, so, you know, it’s expected.”
Trump touted during his speech at the rally that “we are ensuring that Iran will never have, ever have, ever, ever a nuclear weapon,” as he offered his reason for launching the war against Iran. The argument resonates with MAGA voters.
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“He’s taken the fight to the terrorists over in Iran,” James Blake said.
Carol Mocan said she doesn’t blame Trump for the high cost of living “because Iran needed to be taken care of. And no one else has done it for a long time, and I don’t know who else would have, and I really think it needs to be shut down.”
Ken Gunnels of Clio, Michigan said, “I believe Iran was a genuine threat to this country. If a nuclear bomb went off in one of our major cities, I don’t think any of us would have any idea the repercussions…that this country would suffer from that. I think those people are monsters, and I think we had to have a president that would stand up to them.”
Other MAGA voters said while the war and the economy are important, another issue takes precedence.
“My biggest thing is the immigration. If you’re here illegally, expect a knock on your door from ICE,” Burtchville resident Steve Scouten said.
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Bacheller, Scouten’s longtime friend, agreed. “I’m with Steve. I think if I could pick one thing that Trump should really go down for is the immigration policy,” he said.
James Blake emphasized that Trump’s “shut the borders.”
He added that the president has “also has advocated for no men in women’s sports, which is a huge one for us. Also with no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, that’s huge, especially for a lot of members of my family.”
And Port Huron resident Rolande Debell highlighted she’s “all for Trump” because “it’s all about being American. It’s all about our freedom. It’s all about our rights. It’s all about our Ten Commandments, and that’s Trump.”
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None of the MAGA voters Fox Digital interviewed said they would vote for a Democrat in the midterms.
“I don’t like a lot of the things that they believe in,” Judith Troy said.
Carol Mocan argued that Democrats “don’t live in the same world that that the rest of us do. They just don’t, they don’t think about the people. They think about their careers… whatever it takes to get elected.”
Asked why he won’t consider voting for Democrats, James Blake said, “I’m not in the business of socialism. I don’t think that’s a good way to go, and I think that’s where the Democrats are heading at this time.”
Meanwhile, Steve Scouten shared that he “used to be a Democrat.”
“Never again. They’re too far to the left,” he claimed.