Often touted as a tool to reshore manufacturing jobs, President Donald Trump’s tariffs have been named as the primary cause for thousands of layoffs — and a number of longtime GOP voters are expressing outrage.
“So much for bringing jobs back,” said Nelson Vandermeer, who’s voted for GOP candidates for decades but lost his job at a clockmaker after the company shut down, speaking with the Associated Press.
While a longtime GOP voter, Vandermeer “balked at” supporting Trump out of fear of his tariffs, a fear that ultimately materialized with him losing his job as a product designer. He now plans to vote “straight Democrat in the midterms,” the Associated Press reported.
Tracy Chew is another former GOP voter who voted for Trump in 2016 but then backed Democrats in 2020 and 2024. She lost her job in April after a backhoe manufacturer shut down its plant in Iowa, as did several of her family members.
“I’m furious he isn’t doing enough,” Chew told the Associated Press. “Tariffs are not targeting the right companies, the right amount.”
The employment research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas documented 7,908 layoffs in 2025 that it classified as tariff-related.
The United States experienced a 40-plus-year decline in manufacturing after the abandonment of protectionist trade policies in the 1980s and onward. While supporters of Trump’s tariffs argue that the president’s tariffs are a return to such protectionist trade policies, critics argue that the tariffs failed to take into account the tens of thousands of factories that shuttered over the past few decades, decimating America’s manufacturing infrastructure.
“I understand the mindset behind tariffs, but I just don’t know if it’s working,” said Heather Kingston, who voted for Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) but is now reconsidering supporting him in the midterms, speaking with the Associated Press. “There doesn’t seem to be many manufacturing jobs moving into the area.”
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