Trump Supporters Stay Loyal Through Pandemic, Recession, Unrest
Tracking Trump’s Rust Belt voters after the 2016 election
4
states that swung the 2016 election
8
voters
45
months tracked
When we checked with our Trump heartland supporters in October, the jobless rate was 3.6% and the economy was expanding. Since then, the coronavirus has infected more than 6 million Americans and killed more than 183,000. Widespread business closures and bankruptcies pushed unemployment as high as 14.7%, contributing to what may be the worse economic slump since the Great Depression. And the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has galvanized Black Lives Matter demonstrations nationwide – some peaceful and some not. Despite the turmoil, our group still whole-heartedly supports the president, with the election fewer than three months away and Trump trailing Democratic nominee Joe Biden in national polls.
Here are their thoughts about the pandemic, the economy and race relations in the U.S.
William Chaney
La Crosse, Wisconsin
44 years old, account representative for a national wholesale mortgage lender, married, one son
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Bryn Biemeck
Austin, Texas
34 years old, pizza-delivery driver, single
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Kim Woodrosky
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
56 years old, real estate investor, single
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Michael Makowski
Concordville, Pennsylvania
58 years old, small-business owner, married, three children, twin grandchildren and three German shepherds
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Tom Anslow
Port Clinton, Ohio
65 years old, semi-retired, married, three children
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Geno DiFabio
Youngstown, Ohio
57 years old, driver for an industrial-repair shop, married, one child
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Tom Viviano
Sterling Heights, Michigan
51 years old, program manager for a car-industry automation company, married, four children
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Ann Peterson
Rochester, Michigan
55 years old, real estate broker/dealer, divorced, two children
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