A committed MAGA voter who voted for President Donald Trump three times says his economic policies have made one of his simple weekend pleasures unaffordable.
Louis Oliverio is a 72-year-old living in Bullhead City, Arizona, a conservative retirement community in a county Trump won overwhelmingly in 2024. He revealed to The Washington Post that his favorite Saturday activity is now beyond his wallet: “grilling steak.”
“It’s been a while since I bought a fillet,” he said.
Oliverio added that middle-class and lower-middle-class people in his community want prices to go down. He thinks that the president has “taken on too much” in regard to foreign policy, but despite his economic hardship, he still thinks Trump deserves some praise for tackling illegal border crossings.
“It’s not about MAGA. It’s about what’s best for our country, our freedom, our Constitution, our First and Second Amendment,” he told the Post.
His take on the president comes as Trump heads to his hometown on Wednesday to host a rally as the midterm elections close in.
Trump easily won Mohave County with more than 77 percent of the vote in 2024, and Bullhead City has an aging population with one out of three being 65 years old. Per the report, many of the residents have fixed income, which means the rising cost of energy bills and food leaves them vulnerable.
The price increases voters feel are reflected in the Labor Department statistics, which showed that annual inflation reached 3.7 percent in September, continuing an upward trend.
President Trump campaigned on bringing prices down and pledged no new wars. He has addressed the problem firstly by denying the economic reports, then shifting blame onto his predecessor.
The administration's tariffs and the ongoing Iran war have been flagged by economists and Federal Reserve officials as the main causes bringing prices up.
Bullhead City officials specifically pointed to tariffs on imported steel and aluminum as a reason for higher water infrastructure costs, and consequently residents saw water and sewer rate increases in January.
Program manager at the Senior Enrichment Center, Kim Cool, told the Post that a meal that once cost $1 to provide has tripled. Also, the number of people seeking meals has doubled in two years.
Another resident, Sue Berilla, 73, is also struggling to enjoy her favorite treat, half-loaf of rye bread, because the price has more than doubled, from $2.49 two years ago to more than $5, per the report.
Oliverio made no indication of how he will vote in the midterms, but his account shows the affordability problem is reaching even his most loyal supporters.
