I WAS in Michigan — a key swing state — a month prior to the recently held presidential elections in the United States, going door to door and meeting a diverse range of people. It was an experience like no other.

As such, through all these intimate connections with people, some primary issues emerged. The most pressing concern was related to jobs and the economy, followed closely by inflation, and then women’s rights. Besides, many others expressed a general sense that ‘everything needs to change, stop and reset.’

Even some people, upon finding an attentive ear, were moved to tears as they shared their struggles. One woman in her 40s, living in a relatively well-maintained home within a middle-class neighbour-hood in Detroit, said she had lived in that house for 28 years during which she had turned it into a beautiful home.

However, after both she and her husband lost their jobs several months ago, they depleted all their savings and finally decided to leave in search of work in another state, uncertain but hopeful it might offer better job opportunities. As she recounted her story, she nearly broke down in tears.

There was another black lady, a mother of several young children. When asked what in her opinion was the biggest problem, she said it was the government that had made life miserable.

Moving on, there were many young Asians who were asked the same question. They were mostly supporting Donald Trump because, as they argued, during the Joe Biden administration, most of the earning hands were out of jobs.

One white man in his early 30s said he had to sell his truck, his only source of income, because he could not afford repairs and maintenance due to skyrocketing prices. He had exhausted his savings, and was relying on low-wage temporary jobs.

In contrast, when I spoke to some of the wealthy white families, they had different concerns altogether. Interestingly, I found many of these families to be highly con-servative and strongly opposed, among other things, to abortion rights.

Furthermore, this sentiment was even more pronounced in rural areas, where a deep adherence to conservative and religious values prevailed. One man, around 60, stressed that many of the hardships the Americans were facing stemmed from their failure to adhere to religious teachings.

Undoubtedly, following my interactions, it became rather clear that the poor performance of the Biden administration, with Kamala Harris as vice-president, had been one of the biggest assets for Trump’s campaign.

Eventually, the voters, unconvinced by what they perceived as exaggerated claims of progress, responded by over- whelmingly voting the Democrats out of office. In their hearts and minds, many voters did not view Trump as the ideal choice, but felt compelled to vote for him in the absence of a better alternative.

Qamar Bashir
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024