David Marcus: Small Town America shrugs tariff talk and puts faith in Trump

Undoubtedly for the first time in his political career, President Donald Trump I’m asking his voters to make a big leap of faith about him Administrative Customs Policy.

Amid this uncertainty in trade policy, I decided to travel to small towns in Maryland and Ohio to see how loose Trump voters are willing to cut him. What I found was that Trump has more runways before his support might or might not begin to crumble.

Sen. Randpole: End Trump’s tariffs before it’s too late

Cumberland, Maryland is a charming, sleepy settlement near the Pennsylvania border, and, like many in the area, grew up around the railroad, which shows. With its mounts and 19th-century buildings, the freight trains sprinted through small downtowns and freight trains cut fearless paths.

There I met Fred and his son Chris. He was having dinner next to me at a local facility. Fred’s bright red “Trump was right about everything” hat seemed like a small clue that he had voted for President, so we spoke.

“No,” Fred told me when he asked if he was beginning to question him. Retired Navy veterans were particularly pleased with the selection of Pete Hegses as Secretary to the Department of Defense. “He’s a soldier,” Fred told me. “He can handle it.”

I’ve heard that from about 9 of the 10 vets I’m talking about.

Also, Fred’s son Chris, a naval veterinarian, was a little more careful. On the subject of tariffs and more broadly inflation, he said, “Trump is cheaper and not more expensive, but I still wanted to trust him.”

“Nothing happened overnight,” Fred gave his father’s advice.

Chris has a point right now. Trump absolutely ran with tariffs, but it was never clear whether it was a negotiation tactic or an overall economic policy. We don’t really know yet. The deal could still be cut, but Trump didn’t run in short-term economic pain. All his supporters said they had accepted, but they accepted.

Later that night, I met four men in my 30s. They worked in the local energy industry, but once again, three of them were fully on board.

“I don’t think he did enough,” he murmurs sarcasmically about the avalanche of actions Trump took.

Another said Trump’s manual work has strengthened his support.

“A few years ago, I didn’t line up politically with either party, but now Trump is president and Elon is trying to eliminate doges, fraud and illogical spending. He added, “I’m happier now because I voted for Trump than I did when I voted for Trump.”

About two hours northwest of Cumberland is the small Columbiana, Ohio. Unlike the cozy Cumberland surrounded by mountains, Columbiana is a small spot in a strip mall, smaller than the town square, but there are no fascinating haunts to discover.

One of them is Factory 46. The restaurant and bar are hidden behind one of the Ubiquitous Malls. Joe, in his 20s, lived in his lifetime in his 20s, stabs drinks and coarse food.

There I met another father and son, and again mined coal mining in the same industry. This time it was Dad who asked me a few questions in the video. For both, removing taxes through overtime was a major issue.

“It’s killing a working man,” Dad told me, and when I asked him if he really thought Trump could do that, he absolutely did. He also said, “I want to see him bring the coal industry back. Obama took it from us. I can understand gas, we need gas, it’s great, but we need both.”

As was the case for Joe’s mom who came after a while, the themes that had no regrets remained stable in these two.

For more information about Fox News, click here

One thing that has become clear, especially in Ohio, is that when Democrats and the media are shouting about how tariffs beat the stock market and make foreign goods even more expensive, we believe our so-called prosperity has been at the expense of domestic manufacturing and towns like them.

Voters in these small towns consider themselves the loser of the globalism game, and they aren’t too upset about the change in the rules.

Click here to get the Fox News app

Trump’s polls have fallen slightly. He’s about two points underwater, but this time he’s still higher than his first semester. And based on my conversation with his supporters this week, I don’t expect to see a sudden drop anytime soon.

No, his people want to give Trump time, but in the long run, they definitely look forward to the results.

For more information about David Marcus, click here