Hope, fear, anxiety: Trump, Harris voters on edge as Election Day looms
Two assassination attempts. A last-minute candidate switch. War in the Middle East. Border issues. Dire predictions of dictatorship and death threats against election workers. And all of it sitting atop an economy that almost no one feels is going well, despite record stock market gains, low unemployment and rising wages.
This is the knife-edge presidential race no one could have predicted, creating a pressure cooker of stress, anxiety and fear, supercharged by talking-head television, social media memes, "gotcha" moments and celebrity endorsements.
Paste BN interviewed dozens of voters across the country to sample how they're feeling as the country faces a nail-biter of a decision between former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
"Everybody's on edge, from day to day, from now till Election Day," said Arkansas resident and Trump voter Laura Henderson, 64.
Across the country:
-- In Georgia, landscaper Graham Stewart, 49, worries a second Trump presidency will mean his transgender relatives might be attacked.
-- In Michigan, Emily Gregory, 42, fears her oldest daughter won't be able to find a job if Harris wins, even if a vote for Trump means she loses abortion access.
-- In Raleigh, North Carolina, Claude Allen, 58, says he's considering carrying a gun for protection should Trump again refuse to accept a loss.
-- And in California, Joyce Lucich, 76, is just holding her breath. She's going to vote for Trump, and while she and her husband have concerns about his approach to Ukraine and Gaza and how he conducts himself, she says the economy is just too important to risk another four years of liberal policies.
"I see it all the time: People are terrified. They are stressed, overly stressed," said Dr. Arash Javanbakht, founding director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic at Wayne State University's School of Medicine in Detroit. "And politicians keep saying this is the scariest time of your life."
Javanbakht, the author of "AFRAID: Understanding the Purpose of Fear, and Harnessing the Power of Anxiety,” specializes in anxiety treatment, and said he has seen a notable increase in people seeking help as the campaign has intensified.
And it's easy to see why.
Trump frequently paints a dire picture of the country's future, warning voters that only he can save the United States from ruin.
His supporters say they're being crushed by the high cost of living and that Trump is the needed economic leader. Angered by what they say are large flows of migrants in recent years, Trump supporters say his vow to deport people living illegally in the United States is a strong first step in protecting the things that make America special.
They also cite his efforts to block abortion access and dramatically downsize the federal government to reduce spending while also spurring even more oil and gas drilling to bring down energy costs, and promises of more tax cuts. And they support his efforts to punish China with high tariffs and his "peace through strength" approach to national defense and NATO.
“We're in such a horrible mess right now that I think that he's the one that can pull us out of it for my kids and my grandkids,” said Jennifer Wilson, 47, an Arkansas voter and Trump supporter.
Liberals see a second Trump presidency as a threat to democracy after a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and tried to stop the certification of Biden's win in 2020. They can't understand how anyone could vote for a convicted felon or someone who they say is so disrespectful to women.
They fear his plans to forcibly deport millions of people living illegally in the United States and are angry he appointed Supreme Court justices who ended the federal right to an abortion. They also worry about a possible loss of access to birth control. And say they're willing to pay higher prices for goods and services if it means protecting the Earth's climate.
But they also say Harris, as a woman of Black and Southeast Asian heritage, provides an important sense of hope and forward-looking optimism − a candidate who wants to expand protections and rights for all Americans. Many say they're relieved President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, a shocking decision that reshaped the election.
"Harris is amazing," said Sandra MacDonald, 61, of Nashville. "Put aside that she’s Black and Asian and a woman. Put that aside. She’s a bright, enthusiastic candidate.”
Abortion, economy rank among top voter concerns
Long gone are the days of polite presidential debates and compliments by the candidates about their opponents. Instead, Trump and Harris backers have drawn battle lines and are preparing for the worst, slinging insults on Facebook, sharing the latest "can you believe they said that" video clips and arguing with relatives.
And above all they remain mystified how anyone could vote for the other candidate.
Kellie Love, 44, an independent voter in Louisville, Kentucky, said she will vote for Harris and worries what a Trump win would mean for her personally and how the country would react to a Trump defeat.
"I don’t think I’m included in the future that he sees,” Love said. “I just don’t foresee him being able to say, ‘OK, I lost.’ It’s very scary to watch."
But James McMorrow, a Republican voter from Cape Cod, said he remembers things being better under Trump, whom he voted for in 2020. McMorrow, 22, said he's working harder than ever to afford the cost of living, and he believes Trump will improve the economy.
"I still get paid the same and everything else is more expensive,” McMorrow said. "He’s been president before, so I’m hoping it will go as well as it did last time. That's my reasoning."
Echoed Lucich: “I just can't vote for another four years of what we've had. Even though we may not like Trump as a person, because of our economy and what we've gone through the last four years, we can't do this again. What bothers me is that so many people say they're voting because of abortion rights when it affects so little of the population. But the economy and immigration affects all of us, every single person in the United States, but most people are going to vote for (Harris) because she’s pro-abortion."
Cleveland-area resident Barbara Balogh, 51, said that's precisely why she's voting for Harris: "The fact that she doesn’t want to take away all our rights and send us back 100 years, that’s pretty compelling to me."
Said Allen, the Raleigh resident: "If somebody takes rights away from you, that's like taking away your life, and that's not fair."
Fear of violence, loss of rights worries many
In interviews, many voters said they feel their voices aren't reflected in the candidates. Others say they have a hard time seeing a peaceful future for the country.
Arizona electrician Mike Miley, 23, said that while gas prices and immigration are among his top concerns, he's worried about the potential fracturing of the United States, and he is supporting Trump again. Miley said he believes Trump won the 2020 election and that "rich people" decide who will actually be president.
Trump “is just putting the timer back up on the time bomb rather than disarming it. I think it’s just extending it," he said. "Something big is going to happen either way.”
In interviews, Harris voters often cited fears that Trump will ignore the Constitution and use extralegal means to target his enemies, whether that's undocumented migrants, trans people or his political enemies. And the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted insurrection by Trump supporters feels like a dangerous example of the risk, they said.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed now that there’s no violence, no bad stuff going on," said Brenda Butler, 82, of Nashville, who voted for Harris.
Of course, not every voter sees this election as one of the highest-stakes decisions the United States has ever made.
Said California Democrat David Ponce, 25, who said he might skip voting: “It doesn't matter who you vote for, because things are still going to have to get done at the end of the day. We are still the USA, so no matter who is in office, things won’t really change.”
Nashville voter Ben McCreary, 35, said he hopes Americans can put their difference behind them once the votes are counted and a president is elected. He didn’t want to talk about for whom he voted.
"It's going to be what it is,” McCreary said. “At the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, let’s move on and hopefully get the boat rowing in the same direction and quit moving in separate directions."
America nears an answer in 2024 presidential race
For those exhausted by the election, there is some good news, at least: The end of this presidential cycle means a pause to the television and social media advertisements, campaign emails and fundraising text messages. And that means a chance to dial back on that anxiety by dialing back on your media consumption.
Javanbakht said the patients he treats at his clinic often acknowledge they watch hours of cable TV a day, and he tries to assure them that things are rarely as bad as they think. He said there's a difference between acknowledging political differences and obsessing over them.
After all, he said, most Republicans aren't actually going around attacking migrants, and Democrats aren't forcing anyone to give up their guns.
"I don't recommend that you be ignorant. But you want to reduce your exposure to the source of negativity. If you eat garbage all day, your stomach is going to feel terrible," he said. "When you cut down on cable news exposure, you get better. I tell my patients, every time they are sitting there stewing, ask yourself, 'What good are you doing for yourself?' Maybe go take a walk."
Contributing: Paste BN Network reporters Paul Egan, Arpan Lobo, Cy Neff, Vivian Jones, George Russell, Sabine Martin, Stacey Barchenger, Jessie Balmert, Kathryn Palmer, Sarah Gleason, Melissa Cruz and Maya Marchel Hoff.
(This story was updated to add new information.)