Name: This area of South Dakota voted for Trump by roughly 70%. Here's what they think now
Uploaded: 2025-04-20T11:44:20.000Z
Duration: 10 min 27 s
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There was no way in hell I wanted her out there.

But now I don't know what would have been better.

I was expecting the lower cost of a lot of just your everyday living things and hoping that he would make things better for everybody in America because that's what we need.

Groceries are already outrageous and then we put the tariffs on across the seas or whatever like China all that.

It just makes everything more expensive for everybody.

Jamie Basinger is the only person we met in eastern South Dakota who openly questioned her own political views.

Most people we talked to said it was risky to talk about politics here even as the effects of Trump's tariffs loomed over the agricultural economy in an area that voted for him by about 70%.

Generally opinions were divided between trust Trump's plan and how can you still like this guy.

I'd like to talk about that a little bit.

She's a Democrat and her husband is a conservative non-voter.

Basically if a company needs to ship bricks she'll find you a flatbed truck.

If you need to ship meat she'll get you a refrigerated truck.

Can you guys like fork a pallet jack into the back of the trailer for him to pallet jack him to the front?

This gives her a window into real-time shifts in the economy.

People are making different decisions for different reasons but you know some of its hesitation some of its actual price changes.

Everybody just wants some stability right now.

She says China's retaliatory tariffs on American pork and beef could lead to higher prices on fruit.

Right now it's produce season in California.

If it doesn't go the price of produce is gonna go up even that much more because they're gonna have to pay more for the trucks.

You know as we've talked about you're in a really conservative area very pro-Trump area like do you feel frustrated in trying to talk to your neighbors about what's going on?

Yeah you know it's the biggest thing that frustrates me is that I just feel like nobody cares right now until it affects them and I don't understand how they don't see that.

These people aren't dumb and they're not unkind people and selfish people and thoughtless people so I don't understand why they're okay with it.

Hofer introduced us to her neighbor Rod Omerud who was feeding cattle and who for now is okay with it.

I just think we need to let the president do what he's doing and we need to just see what's gonna happen here and give him a little latitude so that you know if it doesn't work then we're gonna have to try something different.

Okay so you're willing to let the president try some stuff to see?

Let's give the president a chance and we'll just have to go from there.

Tommy Beruth thinks we already give it a chance.

He's a retired soybean farmer who saw what happened in 2018 when Trump put tariffs on China.

The export market just went right down the tube because these countries could buy them from other places cheaper.

Brazil and other countries were the ones that benefited from that.

I read that it that way that now China buys a lot more from Brazil.

Exactly and a lot of times those markets don't come back.

He says Trump's plan will work out in the long term even if some crop prices fall.

Yeah the price might come down but when them people start starving they're gonna come back to the table.

Yeah we're a gracious gracious nation feeding the world and we shouldn't have to without getting something for it.

Rick Ekman says in the three days after the tariffs cattle futures dropped below the point of breakeven for his farm.

I think to get to where he's at today he's stepped on people and he's got no morals I don't think.

Why do you think so many of your neighbors do support him?

I don't know I guess I don't see anything good about him.

Does it affect the way you think about America?

Terry Nebelsek a lifelong Republican and retired school superintendent was very careful in how he talked about the political climate.

He's concerned that Trump's push to dissolve the Department of Education will cut public school funds for needy kids potentially at a time of economic turmoil.

If poverty is happening to adults children are hurting and we're adults sometimes just have to work through it and work through it make sure there's food on the table.

During that time we have children and adolescents who are forming who they're going to be and I do think that the public school is a collecting point for people to be able to reach those kids and make sure that they're fed and have medical attention and and have their basic needs met.

Again and again our conversations in this Midwestern nice town came back to character and values.

When Sheila and I raised our children we taught them to be honest you know not try to cheat anybody to respect.

Do you find a lot of very Republican state.

I think it's too soon for them to say they're wrong.

Ellie I love the conversations that you are able to bring to us and bring to light.

Given everything that we just saw do the Trump supporters that you spoke to do they regret their vote?

I get that question so much particularly from people in bluer states and again and again they say no.

One man described him as courageous and they said they there people have told me they're willing to take a serious financial hit to their own personal finances in order to let him do his thing because they really have faith in him that he's the only one willing to do what needs to be done.

I think that fascinating that they are willing to say I'm willing to take the hit.

You know take that pain but how long at that big question now.

So talking about the tariffs obviously over the last several weeks we've seen Donald Trump the president losing support among voters writ large over the tariffs.

His numbers on the economy are going south.

He's hemorrhaging support among independents on the economy.

He just happens to be the one man standing beside me right now.

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This area of South Dakota voted for Trump by roughly 70%. Here's what they think now

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