Weathering Hard Times with Unshaken Faith
In rural fields, factory floors, and long-haul truck cabs across America, supporters of former President Donald Trump are facing lean times – yet they remain resolutely optimistic. Many are absorbing short-term economic pain from higher costs, slower markets, and shrinking exports, convinced it’s the price to pay for a stronger future. “We can’t continue down the road we’re going,” says Paul Ruggeri, a retired steelworker in Michigan, echoing a common sentiment. “It’s going to be painful for a little while… But it’s got to change.”
Despite the strain of rising fuel bills and uncertain markets, these farmers, manufacturers, and truckers are “buckling their belts” now – tightening budgets and endurance – in hopes that Trump’s drastic policy shifts will eventually reboot the economy they depend on. For them, Trump’s tariffs, deregulation, and unorthodox trade gambits are bold medicine: a tough cure that will hurt now but, they believe, ultimately heal the patient.
Farmers: Sowing Hope Amid an Agricultural Downturn
The farm belt has been hit especially hard. “The downturn in the ag economy has everyone… concerned,” one grower noted, reflecting “waning optimism” across the Corn Belt. Prices for corn and soybeans have slumped, and exports have dwindled after years of trade disputes. “We’ve had a couple years of drawdown on farmers’ working capital,” says Ben Riensche, who grows corn and soy in Iowa. Fertilizer, fuel, and machinery costs have soared, squeezing cash flow. By many measures, 2025 is shaping up to be another challenging year on the farm.
Yet through the dust of spring planting, many farmers still voice stubborn optimism. Riensche and others support Trump’s hard line on trade, believing “short-term pain is long-term gain.” They blame unfair foreign tariffs and gluts of global grain for their woes, and they applaud efforts to confront those imbalances. “So much of this… is about making trade equal,” Riensche explains, arguing that making U.S. products competitive will ultimately lift agriculture. He and like-minded growers are willing to accept an “adjustment period” of discomfort – “a little less than comfortable for a while here… It could be hard in the short term on farmers,” he admits. But the long-term reward, they insist, will be worth it: a level playing field in global markets.
To endure the current climate, farmers are tightening spending and leaning on each other. Many delay buying new equipment, patching up old tractors instead – understandable when some farm machinery prices have jumped 30–50% in recent years. They focus on fundamentals (“putting a crop in the ground”) and controlling what they can. Grassroots cooperation is a lifeline: neighbors share machinery and swap labor at harvest to save costs. And crucially, they trust that “methods… to keep us whole” will be in place during the transition. During Trump’s first term, billions in federal farm aid checks helped many farms survive export losses, and talk of similar relief gives hope. Through it all, Trump’s rural base remains one of his most loyal. In fact, farmers overwhelmingly backed him again in 2024, despite the previous trade war’s toll. That loyalty is rooted in a deeply held belief that rebuilding American agriculture’s strength requires drastic action now. As Riensche puts it, he has “great confidence” that if farmers can bridge this rough patch, “we’re going to have a wonderful food production system” in the end.
Manufacturers: Betting on a Rust Belt Revival
Across the Rust Belt and beyond, small manufacturers and factory workers are likewise keeping the faith. U.S. manufacturing has been in steady decline for decades – employment in the sector has plummeted from 19.6 million workers in 1979 to about 12.8 million in early 2025 – and Trump’s promised revival of industry was a key reason many blue-collar workers embraced him. Now, amid economic headwinds, Trump-supporting manufacturers are hunkering down and staying committed to his “America First” agenda, convinced that it will eventually deliver a renaissance in domestic production.
Drew Greenblatt is one such believer. The president of Marlin Steel Wire Products in Baltimore, Greenblatt has 115 employees making industrial wire baskets. Competing against cheap imports is tough – foreign rivals often enjoy advantages from tariffs and taxes that make American goods costlier overseas. Seeing this as fundamentally “unfair to the American worker,” Greenblatt is fully on board with Trump’s tariffs. The way he sees it, tariffs are a means to “rebalance a global trading system” tilted against U.S. manufacturers. Trump’s team has cast rebuilding manufacturing as an “economic and national security” priority, and Greenblatt agrees. If the tariff strategy succeeds in forcing “parity” – pressuring other countries to lower their barriers – he says he “could double his staff” to meet the new demand. In other words, he’s enduring today’s uncertainty in hopes of a made-in-America boom tomorrow.
He’s not alone. Many factory owners and industrial workers remain hopeful, not hopeless. They talk about “bringing jobs back home” as a near-religious mission – a long-term win that justifies short-term sacrifice. A recent study even found Trump’s first-term tariffs “strengthened the U.S. economy” by encouraging domestic output, bolstering their optimism. Supporters point to early positive signs, like new investment in steel mills after tariffs on imported steel. They also cheer Trump’s sweeping deregulation drive, which rolled back what they view as costly red tape on businesses. Many had felt stifled by regulations; now they are seeing permits fast-tracked and compliance costs drop, freeing up cash to ride out the slow times.
Of course, not every industrial business is so sanguine – uncertainty clouds the horizon, and some manufacturers worry about volatile trade policy. Surveys show even some Trump voters in industry nervously eyeing price spikes for imported parts and materials. But the prevailing attitude among his loyal base is one of patience and determination. Their economic strategy is to tighten operations and wait for the tide to turn. Many firms have shifted supply chains to buy American inputs (Greenblatt, for instance, sources all his steel domestically), both out of necessity and principle. Others are branding their products as “Made in the USA” to attract customers willing to pay a bit more now for quality and patriotism. And on the factory floor, workers are doing more with less – taking on extra tasks, improving efficiency – effectively biding time until, as they foresee it, U.S. factories roar back to life under more favorable trade terms. “When those tariffs even the playing field,” Greenblatt says, “it will mean better-paying American jobs” in plants like his. That promise keeps him and many others going through the lean months.
Truckers: Riding Out the Slump on a Promise of Growth
On the highways, truck drivers and small trucking companies are similarly toughing it out with an eye on the light at the end of the tunnel. The $900-billion U.S. trucking industry thrives or falters with the broader economy – and right now, it’s feeling the squeeze. After a freight boom during the pandemic, trucking demand has cooled. High diesel prices and soft shipping volumes have created what some truckers dub a “trucking recession.” “Truckers are driving less miles, paying more for fuel,” says Mike Kucharski, co-owner of an Illinois trucking firm, describing the profit pinch. Big rig shipments tied to manufacturing and import freight have dipped, in part due to the very trade war policies Trump unleashed. One forecast for 2025 shows truck freight volumes likely flat compared to the year before – a stark change from the rapid growth truckers hoped for.
And yet, Trump retains a passionate following among America’s drivers. “Truckers are very excited,” Kucharski notes, because they see a silver lining beyond the current slowdown. The reason? They believe Trump’s policies will supercharge the industries that fill their trailers. “When Trump was talking about the economic plan, he brought up tariffs… he wants to bring more production back into the U.S., which would be awesome,” Kucharski explains. Hauling containers out of ports might be slow now, but if factories in the heartland ramp up, truckers anticipate hauling more steel, machinery, and raw materials across domestic routes. In short, made-in-America means moved-in-America – more loads and miles on the road for truck drivers in the long run.
Truckers also welcome Trump’s promises to roll back regulations that they say have made their jobs harder. From strict limits on driving hours to looming mandates for electric trucks, many drivers feel “overregulated.” Here, too, they are betting on relief: “We’re overregulating the trucking business… Truckers really have hope that he’ll walk back some of these regulations,” Kucharski says. This hope is echoed by industry insiders who expect the new administration will cut red tape that “hurt a lot of… companies.” For example, adjustments to federal hours-of-service rules in 2020 gave drivers more flexibility, a change many appreciated. A friendlier regulatory climate could lower compliance costs and improve productivity, which in tough times might spell the difference between staying afloat or going under for a small trucking outfit.
In the meantime, how are truckers coping? By getting creative and resourceful. Many independent owner-operators have tightened their budgets – postponing the purchase of that new rig, or running older trucks a bit longer – to save cash. Others are seeking out new niches (for instance, shifting from hauling imported retail goods to agricultural products or construction materials) to keep their wheels turning. The trucking community is tight-knit, and drivers often swap tips on forums and CB radio on finding better-paying loads or cutting fuel costs. Larger carriers, for their part, are trying to be “agile and adaptive,” using strategies like optimizing routes and improving logistics tech to weather the volatility. They know that policy changes, labor shortages, and capacity swings can upend the industry, so the name of the game is efficiency until growth returns.
Notably, optimism runs high that demand will rebound. Analysts predict consumer spending on goods will gradually improve, bringing freight levels back up. And Trump’s allies in trucking point to planned tax cuts and infrastructure investment as reasons to expect a freight surge ahead. “Manufacturing is going to take off again,” one trucking executive forecasts confidently. In practical terms, truckers are envisioning fuller trailers and higher rates down the road – if they can just endure the current lull. It’s this vision of a “different era for prosperity” on the horizon that keeps the pedals to the metal for now.
Tightened Belts and Long-Term Vision
Despite hailing from different sectors, these Trump-supporting Americans share a common strategy: endure today, improve tomorrow. They talk frequently of “short-term pain for long-term gain,” almost as a mantra. Below are some of the core beliefs driving them to stick with Trump’s program through the hard times:
- Fair Trade and American Jobs: Many believe that confronting trading partners’ unfair practices (through tariffs or tough negotiations) will “address the record trade deficit” and bring back jobs in farming and manufacturing. Sacrificing some exports now is acceptable if it means reviving local industry and stopping what Trump calls “the greatest job theft” by China.
- Rolling Back Burdensome Regulations: Trump’s deregulation push is seen as a liberation for business. From environmental rules on farmers to labor mandates on truckers, cutting red tape is expected to lower costs and spur growth.
- Economic Self-Sufficiency: Trump’s base takes pride in American self-reliance. Whether it’s energy independence or food security, they believe drastic changes will strengthen the nation’s autonomy.
- Grassroots Grit and Solidarity: There’s a certain resolve – a feeling of “we’re all in this together” – that binds these supporters. They form local coalitions, share resources, and uplift one another, confident that sticking to Trump’s vision will eventually lead to better days.
Looking Toward the Horizon
In coffee shops and combine harvesters, in factory break rooms and truck stops, the refrain is the same: hold on, better times are coming. It’s a narrative of hope through hardship. These supporters acknowledge the current economic pain – they live it daily, after all – but they haven’t lost sight of what they see as the bigger picture. “Sometimes in business you have to have short-term pain to have long-term gain,” one Trump voter said, voicing a philosophy that underpins their patience. They trust that the drastic course corrections underway in Washington – from tariff brinkmanship to sweeping deregulation – will shake up the status quo that they feel left them struggling, and ultimately create a more prosperous, fair economy for Americans like them.
For now, that means buckling down and persevering. A grain farmer plows forward even as his export markets dry up, believing a tougher stance now will yield better prices next season. A machinist accepts higher steel costs, expecting new mills to open and stabilize supply in the future. A truck driver takes a few less long-haul trips this month, hopeful that next year’s work will more than make up for it. This enduring optimism is almost infectious. At Trump’s recent 100-days rally in Michigan, the crowd’s confidence was palpable even as recession fears swirled. Ruggeri, the retired steelworker, captured it best: he’s “fine with some short-term economic pain to support Trump’s policies” because he believes something better lies beyond the hurt.
That “something better” is the vision that keeps these supporters going – a vision of American agriculture thriving on world markets, American factories busy and humming, and American truckers rolling full loads on open roads. It may still be on the horizon, but they are steadfast in their journey toward it. With belts buckled tight and eyes on the future, they are enduring the present in hopes of a promised economic revival. In their hearts, they’ve already invested in the long game – and they’re determined to see it pay off.