WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Opinions are wildly divided on how both parties are handling problems nationwide, including in Wyandotte, where Senator Elissa Slotkin gave the Democratic response to President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress.
Wyandotte residents who also largely voted for Donald Trump.
President Trump's full speech from CSPAN:
Owner of The Vault in Wyandotte Christ Doulos keeps his nose out of the politics and glued to his bottom line.
"I think the issues are more important than the party," said Doulos.
The issue he's paying attention to as a business owner is the state of the economy.
"I'm not seeing inflation rolling back as what was promised. Certainly, my prices continue to go up constantly, and now I just was informed the fish that we get from Canada, the oysters we get from Canada, they're all gonna have tariffs on them. So either I am going to have to stop carrying or raise my prices," explained Doulos.
The economy was a topic of discussion in President Trump's address to Congress and Senator Elissa Slotkin's Democratic response.
VIDEO: Slotkin makes case against Trump agenda in Democratic response
"Wyandotte is a growing community in Downriver. So it's kinda cool to get some of the attention. I feel like we do have a lot to offer this community," said Jake Webb, a Wyandotte voter.
Webb did not vote for Trump and feels like the economy isn't getting better.
"I haven’t seen anything change; if anything, costs have gone up,” said Webb.
Wyandotte is an area where voters chose both Trump and Slotkin to win this past election, and the two have very different views.
Randy Timbs, a Wyandotte voter, says he participates in every election.
"It's always been a Democratic city, but people wanted change, and that's why they voted for Trump," said Timbs.
"This area is a working class area, so I think a lot of it just comes down to the economics," says Webb.
Timbs, who's lived here for decades and voted for Trump, is still happy with that decision.
"I'm happy because my biggest complaint was the border, and that's the first thing he addressed and took care of it, and now he's talking last night trying to unite the nation and when he mentioned no taxes on tips, overtime or social security. I’m on board," said Timbs.
Fran Buchko says she's still hoping costs go down and she sees more unity in Washington.
"Still having trouble, gas prices, food prices," said Buchko."I think Donald Trump is trying to get rid of the waste and everything. Some things I don't agree with him on. I mean, he's trying, but I just cannot stand that they don't work together."
Wyandotte voter Steven Shubert did not vote for Trump and is nervous about the tariff impact.
"I work in the automotive industry, and that's going to be a huge impact for us, and it's gonna be difficult to withstand, and I imagine that's gonna impact our jobs too," said Shubert. "Nervous for my kids. This isn’t the future I imagined for them, but I’m still hopeful.”
