Despite higher fuel and grocery prices, Michigan MAGA supporters stay firmly behind Trump

Supporters of President Donald Trump who came to his rally in Port Huron, Michigan, said they remain behind him even as prices rise at the gas and diesel pumps and at the supermarket. Nearly 20 voters who waited in line for hours in the small city on the shores of Lake Huron were spoken to.

Carol Mocan of Warren, Michigan, said: '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.'

James Blake of Bay City said: 'I know that Trump is always out for America's interests first. And that's what I really like about him.'

Linda Taggart of Marysville called the current high prices 'short term pain for long term gain', adding: 'We see the long term goal and we support that.'

Port Huron resident Bob Kemp said Trump is getting the United States back on course following four years of Democratic control in the White House under former President Joe Biden, noting that 'whenever you're fixing something, it always gets worse before it gets better.'

Another Port Huron resident, Michael Bacheller, said the affordability issue would not impact his vote in the midterms, describing it as a small price to pay temporarily.

Asked if she blamed Trump for high prices, Judith Troy of Port Huron said 'yes and no', because 'he's doing what he has to do', which causes prices to go up, 'but he's doing it for a good cause, so it's expected.'

Republicans are fighting to hold their slim House and Senate majorities, against political history: the party in power in Washington has traditionally lost seats during midterm election years. They also face persistent inflation tied in part to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran.

Trump stood at 36% approval in the latest Fox News national poll, his lowest level ever in a Fox News survey. Among self-described MAGA voters, however, his approval rating remained at 95%.

During his speech at the rally, Trump said 'we are ensuring that Iran will never have, ever have, ever, ever a nuclear weapon', offering that as his reason for launching the war against Iran.

James Blake said Trump has 'taken the fight to the terrorists over in Iran'. Carol Mocan said she does not blame Trump for the high cost of living 'because Iran needed to be taken care of'.

Ken Gunnels of Clio, Michigan, said he believed Iran was a genuine threat to the country, and that if a nuclear bomb went off in one of its major cities, the repercussions the country would suffer would be beyond imagining.

Other MAGA voters said that while the war and the economy are important, another issue takes precedence. Steve Scouten of Burtchville said: 'My biggest thing is the immigration. If you're here illegally, expect a knock on your door from ICE.'

Bacheller, Scouten's longtime friend, agreed that immigration policy would be his first choice of issue. Blake emphasised that the president has 'shut the borders'.

Blake added that Trump has also advocated for no men in women's sports, and for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security, which he called huge, especially for many members of his family.

Port Huron resident Rolande Debell said she is 'all for Trump' because 'it's all about being American, it's all about our freedom, it's all about our rights.'

None of the MAGA voters interviewed said they would vote for a Democrat in the midterms. Judith Troy said she does not like a lot of the things Democrats believe in.

Carol Mocan argued that Democrats 'don't live in the same world that the rest of us do; they don't think about the people, they think about their careers.' James Blake said he is 'not in the business of socialism' and thinks that is where the Democrats are heading. Steve Scouten said he 'used to be a Democrat', but 'never again; they're too far to the left.'