From borders to 'Handmaid's Tale,': What scares Trump, Harris Voters most
When Michigan voters cast their ballots for president, they say a strong motivator is what they expect their candidate will do if sent to the White House.
But in many elections, voters are also motivated, in whole or in part, by fear of what their candidate's opponent might or will do, if elected. That may be especially true this year.
The Free Press asked supporters of former President Donald Trump who attended a rally Thursday at Saginaw Valley State University to describe their greatest fear if Vice President Kamala Harris is elected Nov. 5. The Free Press asked Harris supporters who attended a Friday campaign event in Flint to say what they feared most about a second Trump presidency.
Here's what they had to say.
What Trump supporters told us
Chris Monk of Montrose, who pre-loads UPS trucks and is a member of the Teamsters union, saw Trump speak in person for the second time in Saginaw Thursday after earlier attending a Trump "town hall" event in Flint on Sept. 17 .
"Communism — straight up," Monk said when asked what her greatest fear is of a Harris presidency. "She's not for the people. She's for herself and her elite squad."
Monk said she believes the economy "is already suffering" and will suffer further if Harris is elected. As vice president for nearly four years, Harris has already had a chance to address inflation and take other actions she has promised if elected president, but has not done so, Monk said.
"I'm here to support Trump because I believe he is for the people and this is what we need in leadership of our country."
Scott Doyen, a Bay City construction contractor who enjoys drag racing as a hobby, brought to Trump's Saginaw event his 1967 Chevy II Nova Super Sport, which was built for racing with a 2,000-horsepower engine. Doyen recently decorated the dragster with the viral image of Trump, bloodied and fist raised, surrounded by Secret Service agents after a gunman fired shots at him at a campaign event in Pennsylvania on July 13.
"Open borders" are Doyen's greatest fear under a Harris presidency, he said. If undocumented migrants continue to cross the border in large numbers, "how many of those are gang members and criminals?" he asked.
As a residential home builder, Doyen believes he has faced competition from work performed at lower cost using the labor of undocumented migrants and he said he has also heard the complaints of customers left with low-quality work. "Quality costs money," he said. "Cheap labor isn't quality."
Harris "just doesn't care about the American people," Doyen said. "If she would get elected, it's going to be the American people who are going to regret it."
Frankenmuth resident Sarah O'Dea attended the Trump Saginaw event with her husband Stan after earlier attending a Trump rally in nearby Freeland May 1 and the Flint town hall in September.
"The border issue, the immigration, groceries," O'Dea said when asked about her greatest fear of a Harris presidency.
"This is the first time in my life that I have ever used a calculator while in the grocery store," and "it's obscene," O'Dea said.
"We love Trump because we want to see America go back to how it was when he was president."
What Harris supporters told us
Shonda Edgerle, 51, of Lapeer is a team leader at Flint Assembly where General Motors builds Chevrolet and GMC pickups.
She came out to the Harris rally in Flint to show her support. She said she knows many people who, like her, support Harris, but are afraid to say so because they don't want to be harassed by Trump supporters.
She said she fears Trump would attack abortion rights if he wins and pursue an extreme agenda.
"I just think it's just scary to me, because I'm a big Handmaid's Tale fan, but I don't want to live that life," she said. "I feel like with the Project 2025, it is to me, mirroring that. I'm afraid. I'm really afraid."
LaShawn Lenton, 53, of Flint Township worked 13 years as a corrections officer and now helps manage a senior living community. Her biggest fear about a Trump victory?
"That he would become a dictator and our freedoms would be taken away," she said. "I have children and grandchildren. I really believe that when it comes to female rights, that we should have them. I am pro-life. I really am, but I feel that no one should control what a woman can do with her body, especially not the government."
Eugene Behme, 66, of Flint is a pipefitter for Chrysler. He said he came to the rally Friday because he "wanted a big crowd number to piss off Trump."
He joked that his biggest fear if Trump wins again is that he'd have to move to Canada. Behme said Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021, are more than disqualifying and he fears what will happen if he gets back in.
"He's got an army. He does have an army of followers. That was obvious with January 6," Behme said. "There are these people, this cult, that is following his every word. And so if he gets re-elected, his army will be back out onto the streets again, what kind of power would he have with this military? Michigan militia, all the militia groups that are out there, they're supporting him. It's scary."
James Logie, 27, of Flint has epilepsy and lives on about $1,000 a month in disability benefits.
Some months, his medication costs run $500. He said Harris and President Biden have worked to lower prescription costs for people like him. He said he worries what would have happened to his care under Trump.
He said he fears that if Trump wins, he will implement a detailed policy plan known as Project 2025.
"I hear a lot about Project 2025, and all the different ways that that can affect everybody, as far as women and their reproductive rights, the sales tax," he said. "And I don't know if there's anything in there about healthcare, but it's, it's pretty scary, the things I have heard about it."
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or
