President Donald Trump speaks during the Commander-in-Chief trophy presentation to the Navy Midshipman football team in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-16T11:56:12Z SUN CITY, Ariz. (AP) Susan Hemphill said shes always been frugal with her spending. But the recent volatility in the stock market caused by President Donald Trumps on-again, off-again tariffs and an escalating trade war with China have made her even more cautious. These days, Hemphill is staying closer to home in Sun City, Arizona, a 55-and-older community near Phoenix. No more day trips to Sedona, the retired union organizer said, fighting tears as she wondered aloud whether she could run out of money.Im so tired of Trump playing with our lives, said Hemphill, who voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in November. Im too old for this. I just really want to be retired. I want to enjoy I dont want to worry. Trump was elected with a promise to improve the economy, lower taxes and control inflation, addressing voters who said overwhelmingly that the economy was the top issue facing the country. But for retirees like Hemphill, the Republican presidents economic stewardship has been defined by the roller coaster of the stock market and fears his tariffs will lead to higher inflation. Some are considering curtailing their spending, such as saving their tax refunds instead of spending them, while others are adjusting their investment strategies by moving money into more conservative allocations like bonds and gold, said Prudence Zhu, a Phoenix-area financial adviser, in an email. While this is often an emotional response, its not necessarily the optimal strategy in most cases.How all of those issues shake out could have a notable impact on the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election, as the center of political gravity shifts increasingly toward battleground states in the South and the West, places like Arizona that are popular with retirees. Like other emerging political battlegrounds Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina, Arizonas population has exploded over the past half-century, welcoming newcomers who have transformed its politics. Though Arizona has moved from reliably Republican to a battleground, Trump enjoys overwhelming support in Sun City, where Hemphill is among the 40,000 residents in a community that sprouted from the desert in the 1960s. Trump won every precinct in Sun City, most of them by double digits. Trump supporters like Paul Estok said theyre confident that the president has a handle on the situation and that things will stabilize with time.Im real happy about whats going on, said Estok, who gets three pensions from the various government agencies where he worked as a union stationary engineer in the Chicago area. Hes confident the pensions are secure.The tariffs Trump announced on much of the world sparked turmoil in the stock market earlier this month, before the president abruptly hit pause on most of them. But the drama isnt over. Trump said the 90-day pause would be used to negotiate over tariffs with other countries, but he increased the tax rate on Chinese imports to 145%. Estok said hes thrilled to see a president tough enough to impose tariffs despite the economic consequences. Echoing Trump, he said other countries have been taking so much advantage of us. No ones ever stepped up and said, Hey, enoughs enough, Estok said, climbing into his truck after stopping at a grocery store on his way home from the golf course.Don Welling, an 82-year-old Trump voter, said those alarmed by the tariffs are misguided. He didnt enjoy seeing his portfolio take a dip, but he wasnt worried.If people would pay attention to what he said when he was campaigning, things would be better, Welling said as he loaded groceries into his golf cart.Some retirees said theyre worried about the effect Trumps federal cost-cutting is having on Social Security. While Trump insists he will not cut benefits, his administration has eliminated thousands of jobs at the Social Security Administration, leading to complaints about long call wait times.Karl Feiste winced to see his investments fall 20% in the days after Trump announced his tariffs, but he said, so far, his losses are only on paper. If that turns around, then I can still continue to do what Ive been doing, said Feiste, a Vietnam War veteran who voted for Harris. But Im not planning on buying a car. Im not planning on moving. Im not planning on taking extravagant vacations. Im wondering whats going to happen to the market because that basically dictates what leisure money I have.He worries his Social Security checks, which make up half his income, could eventually fall victim to Trumps aggressive government cost-cutting.That smarts, Feiste said. Because I cant live if he takes my Social Security.Trump carried Arizona voters who were age 65 or older, winning 52% of this group compared with Harris 47%, broadly in line with his national margin among seniors, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of voters and nonvoters that aims to tell the story behind election results. Older Arizona voters were less likely than voters overall to consider the economy and jobs the most important issue facing the country, and they were more likely to consider immigration the top problem. About 3 in 10 seniors said the economy was the biggest problem, compared with about 4 in 10 Arizona voters overall.Hans Vinge, 62, took a prime golf cart parking spot during a grocery store run one recent morning. A former Republican disillusioned by the partys ideological shift under Trump, he thinks the president is doing too much, too fast, with unrealistic expectations for what his tariffs can accomplish.Were not ready right now. These companies arent going to come from offshore into America, Vinge said. Its going to take 10, 15 years to get these companies in to Americanize everything, which is great. But its just its too disruptive right now.Vinge, who is retired from the Air Force and splits his time between North Dakota and Arizona, said its too stressful to follow the news day to day, but its hard to avoid. When he last peeked at the balance of his retirement account, it had fallen $23,000 in one week, he said.Its disappointing to see something thats been doing well for you, Vinge said. I wish I wouldve invested more in gold.___Associated Press writer Linley Sanders in Washington contributed. JONATHAN J. COOPER Cooper writes about national politics from Arizona and beyond for The Associated Press. Now based in Phoenix, he previously covered politics in Oregon and California. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site