Ahead of Trump's visit, Rocky Mount residents say they feel squeezed by high costs

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. — Ahead of President Donald Trump's Friday evening visit to Rocky Mount, residents say they are feeling an economic squeeze that is hard to escape. The uneasy feeling spans political affiliation in a town split between two largely rural and somewhat impoverished counties, and it comes as Trump has framed his economic agenda as a path to relief for Americans reeling from higher living costs.

Among those feeling the pressure is Daijah Bryant, 26, who had worked 22 days straight in her job as a technician at an engine plant to save up for Christmas shopping. Bryant pushed her cart out of a Walmart in Rocky Mount and loaded her sedan's backseat with bags of gifts. While the hoard of presents will bring joy to her friends and family, she said it is difficult to feel good about the purchases. “Having to pay bills, if you happen to pay rent and try to do Christmas all at the same time, it is very, very hard,” she said with exasperation.

Ahead of Trump's visit, Rocky Mount sits in a U.S. House district that has been historically competitive, though the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature this year redrew the boundaries to favor their party as part of a broader push to help the GOP maintain its House majority for the last half of Trump’s term. The partisan map reshaping underscores how this community, like many across the country, anchors its political identity in a moment of national debate over who benefits from economic policy. Yet the hardships its residents report mirror the tightening financial strains many Americans say they are feeling, with high prices for groceries, housing and utilities among their top concerns.

Polls have shown persistently high prices have put Americans in a sour mood about the state of the economy, and Trump has asserted the economy is improving and that relief is on the way in the new year and beyond. In some cases, he has urged Americans to trim spending as a way to stretch budgets during inflationary times. The messaging has resonated with some supporters and unsettled others who doubt the pace of change.

Crimson smokestacks tower over parts of downtown Rocky Mount, reminding the town's roughly 54,000 residents of its roots as a once-booming tobacco market. Through the heart of downtown, graffiti-covered trains still lug along on the railroad tracks that helped make Rocky Mount a bustling locomotive hotspot in the last century. Those days seem long gone for many, though the city has tried to pivot by tapping into manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals. The efforts, however, have not erased the challenges: long stretches of empty storefronts line the streets, and business activity can be scarce on weekday mornings.

Lucy Slep, who co-owns The Miner’s Emporium jewelry store with her husband, said downtown Rocky Mount has aged, and the decline has been gradual over more than a decade. “Every downtown in every little town is beautiful,” she said, “but without the businesses, it's dead.” Her shop, tucked along a street that once buzzed with foot traffic, has struggled in recent years. Handmade displays and a cave-like interior could not shield it from softer shopper interest, especially with the season’s limited crowds ahead of Christmas. Still, she remains hopeful that Trump’s economic policies—including upcoming tax cuts—could help ease costs for families and small businesses alike. In her eyes, the current financial strains are residues from the Biden administration that she believes will fade with policy changes.

Shiva Mrain, an engineer who lives in Rocky Mount, said his family’s situation has not “become worse nor better.” He has been encouraged by a decline in gas prices, but he noted that other costs—rent, groceries, and utilities—continue to weigh on households. Bryant, who didn’t vote in the last election because she doubted either party could enact changes that would help her life, said she still watches the presidency closely and remains skeptical about whether any substantive shift will happen soon. “I can’t really say … that change is coming,” she said. “I don’t think anything is going to change.”