SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Affordability has become a key issue heading into the midterm elections next year. Some of those consequential midterm races are happening in the swing state of Wisconsin. That's where Maayan Silver from member station WUWM talked to voters ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
(CROSSTALK)
MAAYAN SILVER, BYLINE: Inside the Victory Garden Initiative, a Milwaukee organization that fights food insecurity, people are getting served scoops of mac and cheese, greens, cornbread...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Would you like some gravy?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: No.
SILVER: ...And of course, turkey.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: That enough?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Oh, yeah, that'll be enough.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: OK. Enjoy.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Thank you.
SILVER: Outside, the line for free turkeys and Thanksgiving-style meals is bending around the corner.
Hi. Would you guys like to talk or...
Sharol Britton is in line, keeping balance with her cane. She's 57, born and raised in Milwaukee and currently living in her van. She's having a hard time affording food.
SHAROL BRITTON: Everything in the store, it's like, so I used to get this meat. Now I can't get this meat. You know what I mean? I like this part of the chicken. No, now I got to get probably thighs or whatever. I like the breast, but I can't afford the breast.
SILVER: To her, local help like this seems very far away from what's happening in Washington, D.C.
BRITTON: The Trump administration, Democrat, Republican, liberal, white wing (ph), left wing, back wing, horizontal wing, I don't give a freak. Get your stuff together - period.
SILVER: She used to be a reliably Democratic voter. Now she says both parties are catering to the 1%. Like some others in line, she didn't vote in 2024.
BRITTON: And I will not be voting until they try to at least attempt to go back to for the people.
SILVER: A few feet back in line, Calvin Jones is sitting on his rollator. He's a 67-year-old veteran who squarely blames Trump for today's economy, pinning blame on him for the shutdown, changes to federal food assistance and health costs and the federal minimum wage.
CALVIN JONES: Affordability does not exist. There's no way a person that makes $7.25 an hour can afford to rent an apartment that's 12-, 13-, 14-, $1,500. It's not possible, unless you got 20 people living in the apartment.
SILVER: Halfway through the three-hour event, demand was so great, organizers ran out of free turkeys.
About 10 miles away, people are gathering at an international folk fair. Aaron Eckhart, president of a home-building company, is there with his kids. As for the cost of living?
AARON ECKHART: It's definitely up right now, so things are a little tighter than you'd like them to be sometimes.
SILVER: He's a Republican who voted for Trump and thinks the economy is headed in a good direction.
ECKHART: Well, it's - wasn't in good shape, but I feel like it could be turning around right now.
SILVER: He likes President Trump's idea of passing along some of the revenue from tariffs to Americans with $2,000 rebates. So far, Trump hasn't offered a lot of details on the proposal, but that doesn't dissuade Eckhart.
ECKHART: So I think it's turning around.
SILVER: So you think that President Trump is delivering on the promises that he made to make life more affordable?
ECKHART: Correct. Promises made, promises kept.
SILVER: Keith Songstad was also headed into the fair to see his wife's Italian dance group. He's an accountant from a suburb outside of Milwaukee, an independent who typically votes conservative and voted for Trump in 2024. Does he think Trump is keeping up with his promise to make things more affordable?
KEITH SONGSTAD: Yes. I think he's working on it. You know, I think it's only been less than a year, so I think there's work to be done, but certainly.
SILVER: And what do you think Trump needs to do going forward?
SONGSTAD: I think he needs to concentrate on America, you know? That's the whole idea. Let's worry less about globalization. Let's worry more about what's going on here.
SILVER: He's happy to enjoy an event celebrating world cultures, but economically, it's America first. For NPR News, I'm Maayan Silver in Milwaukee.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARC DE SOLEIL'S "MUMBO SUGAR") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.