The one question from Donald Trump that could sway many American voters in swing states

By Adam Harvey in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

(ABC-Australia) For many Americans things are tight. Despite the US economy being strong and unemployment low, the cost of living is high. As a result many families don't feel like like they're doing well and that is something Donald Trump has tapped into by asking one simple question: 'Are you doing better than you were four years ago'? The Maciejewski family are feeling the pinch. Their weekly trip to Costco keeps getting more expensive. "I'm easily spending $US350 to $US400 ($530 to $605) in a shopping trip," Rachel Maciejewski says, as she unloads her shopping on the kitchen bench at her home on the outskirts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It wasn't like this four years ago. "I would say I felt like I could, if I budgeted appropriately, get away with between US$150 and $200 ($227 to $302)." Rachel's a nurse. Her husband Scott is a police officer. They earn a combined US$150,000 ($227,000) and have a small mortgage, but their salaries have not kept up with the cost of living. To save money they've pulled their youngest daughter, Brinley, 6, out of her gymnastics classes. And they've shelved plans to remodel their basement to give their four girls a bit more breathing space. "We are bursting at the seams," Rachel told 7.30. "They don't have a lot of space to hang out or have friends over. They all share bedrooms, so there isn't private space for them to hang out. So yes, I would love (to move to a bigger house), but it's just nothing that we have been able to afford, and now, with interest rates and the cost of homes going up, it's just not even an option for us. "We were living much richer lives when he [Trump] was in office." House prices have risen dramatically in Milwaukee since Trump was president. In nearby Menomonee Falls, local real estate agent Chris Slinker says what was a US$600,000 ($908,488) home now sells for about US$800,000–850,000 ($1.2m-$1.3m). That's an expensive home in Milwaukee, where the average house price is around $US250,000 ($379,000). "The policies of the current administration have put a huge strain on the economy, not just in the housing market, but multiple markets," Mr Slinker told 7.30. "I think housing is just one big example, because in many cases, at least in the United States, our home is one of our biggest investments." Mr Slinker has skin in the game though. He is the vice-chair of the local branch of the Republican Party, and blames the Democrats for America's high inflation rate, which peaked in 2022 at 9.1 per cent. "I think that Donald Trump and the Trump administration had a much better handle on appropriately spending money in the economy than the left does," he said. "I think the left likes to spend money and become reactionary about it and say, 'OK, now we have to pay for it'." Can't hide from Trump's past This part of Menomonee Falls is Republican but there are some Democratic outposts, like the home of Gary Nuetzel, where his front lawn and windows declare his support for Kamala Harris. "I mean, prices may be up, but that happens, up and down. It fluctuates. Things like that will fluctuate over time." "The number one issue is Donald Trump and his incompetence, and for the presidency, his disgraceful performance in the past, trying to overthrow the election and January 6, that is really, to me, the overriding number one issue." In Wisconsin's Racine County — which has swung for both sides in recent presidential elections — cost of living isn't the deciding factor for Paul Hummer either. "A big one for me is on the women's stuff, the freedoms that seem to be taken away out of their hands and put into put into the government's hands," Mr Hummer told 7.30. "I don't necessarily like that stuff, not that I'm like pro abortion, but I believe it's up to the woman in the situation she's in." Mr Hummer spent his Friday night at Castle Lanes Bowling Alley, where he was nailing strike after strike. "I think it's because an Aussie TV crew is watching," he quipped. "Where are you next Friday?" While he is loose at the lanes, he says he's looking forward to election day, just so some of the tension can go out of the air. He also hopes some of the vitriol that is so present in modern day US politics can be dialled back. "It's gonna sound like a cliche answer, but I want people to be able to get along like 30, 40, years ago," he said. "When I was you know, 20 years old, people had differences in politics and we disagreed, but we still were all friends and got along and we didn't believe one side was trying to destroy the other. "I would like the country to get back to that, whether it happens, I don't know. I don't like the hate in politics." The Trump supporter Ms Maciejewski feels so strongly about Donald Trump that she was among the 10,000-strong crowd that attended his rally on Friday night. "Oh my gosh. It was fun. It was fun. It was great to be amongst like-minded people," she said. She said secure borders and the safety of her daughters were most important to her. "I feel like Donald Trump, we had a secure border under him," she said. "I felt my girls were safer. You know, all the men in women's sports and locker rooms and bathrooms and all of that is just out of hand, and I want to protect my daughters." Donald Trump's frustrations with a faulty microphone boiled over at the Milwaukee rally. He spoke of "knocking the hell out of people backstage" and at one point appeared to mimic fellating the microphone. Rachel has a strong Christian faith and attends church or church events up to three times a week. So how does some of Trump's behaviour and language sit with her Christian values? "You know, nobody is perfect," she said. "God is the only perfect being. We all make mistakes. I think the mean tweets, I think they're unintentional at times, jovial at times ... like we could compare continuously in Kamala versus Donald Trump. I mean, we teach our kids to not to lie, and unfortunately, I think Kamala is continuously lying." As to the issue of truth and Trump's past false claims of election fraud, Ms Maciejewski said she sometimes questioned the result of elections and hoped the 2024 election result would be accurate. "I wonder about the legitimacy sometimes, so I hope that the winner will win."