ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — Daija Bryant worked 22 days straight as an engine shop technician to save up money, and now she can finally do the Christmas shopping she’s been putting off.
Bryant pushed the cart out of a Walmart in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and loaded bags of gifts into the back seat of his sedan. While these would instantly bring joy to her friends and family, it was hard for the 26-year-old to be satisfied with the purchase.
“You have to pay the bills and it’s very, very difficult when you happen to be paying rent and trying to do Christmas at the same time,” she said, exasperated.
first President Donald Trump’s Some residents say they feel uneasy after visiting Rocky Mountain on Friday night. economic pressure It seems difficult to escape. The uneasy feeling extends to political affiliations in the largely rural and somewhat impoverished town, which is divided into two counties, but some residents are more hopeful than others that there will be signs of relief soon.
This is the second event this month aimed at defending President Trump. his economic policy first consequential midterm elections Next year, both will be held in presidential battleground states. Same as President Trump Stop by Pennsylvania Rocky Mount is located in a historically competitive U.S. House district. But earlier this year, the Republican-controlled Congress redrawn the boundaries. Eastern North Carolina The move is intended to support his party as part of President Trump’s push to have Republican-led states gerrymander their congressional districts so that the party can maintain a House majority in the second half of his term.
Rocky Mount may have a politically advantageous location, but the hardships residents report reflect the financial strain felt by many Americans, with rising food, housing and utility costs top of mind. Polls show that persistently high prices have left Americans unhappy about the state of the economy, with a majority saying: poor performance.
Mr Trump is claimed that the economy was on an upward trend And after the new year, the country will see some relief. In some cases, he ignored affordability concerns and encouraged Americans to: reduce consumption.
“If we don’t have business, we die.”
Crimson chimneys tower over parts of downtown Rocky Mount, reminding the town’s roughly 54,000 residents of its roots as a once-booming tobacco market. In the heart of downtown, graffiti-covered trains still roll along the tracks that made Rocky Mount a hot spot for locomotives last century.
For some residents who have watched the town change over the decades, those days seem like a long time ago. While Rocky Mount has adapted by leveraging other industries, such as manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals, it has also had to endure its own share of challenges. More recently, the city government’s financial woes have caused residents’ utility bills to skyrocket.
The city is making investments to revitalize downtown, but progress has been slow. Vacant storefronts that once housed restaurants, furniture stores, and drug stores line long streets. Most stores were closed Thursday morning and there were few people walking around the area.
Lucy Sleep, who co-owns the jewelry store The Miner’s Emporium with her husband, is now waiting for the “Golden Age of America” promised by President Trump.
The jewelry store has been in downtown Rocky Mount for nearly 40 years, about as long as the 64-year-old has lived in the area. But Rocky Mount’s downtown has been in decline for at least a decade, and Sleep said she still hopes the city will come back to life.
“Every downtown in every small town is beautiful,” she said. “But without business, it dies.”
Sleep’s store has not been spared the challenges that other small businesses in Rocky Mount have endured. Sleep said more people are now selling jewelry to shops instead of buying it.
There are fewer customers. About a week after Christmas, the store, with its handmade walls and ceiling resembling the walls of a cave, was empty except for a row of glass cases containing jewelry. It’s been tough, but Sleep said she and her husband are trying to get through it.
“For some reason, this year is not a jewelry Christmas,” she said.
Better times are on the horizon, depending on who you ask
Slep is already looking ahead to next year and aiming for better times. She has confidence in President Trump’s economic policies. Future tax cuts — would make a noticeable difference in people’s cost of living. In her eyes, the financial strain people are feeling is a residual effect of the Biden administration that will eventually wear off.
Optimism about what’s to come under the Trump administration may also depend on whether residents feel economic conditions have changed dramatically over the past year. Rocky Mount engineer Shiva Mullane said her family’s situation is “neither worse nor better.” He is encouraged by the drop in gas prices.
Bryant, the engine engineer, is feeling a little disillusioned.
She did not vote in the last election because she did not believe either party could enact reforms that would improve her life. Nearly a year into the Trump administration, Bryant is still waiting to see if the president delivers results.
“I can’t say for sure, but…change is coming,” she says. “I don’t think anything will change.”
