{"id":299695,"date":"2026-07-18T22:29:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T22:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/299695\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T22:29:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T22:29:46","slug":"opinion-its-chaos-what-new-yorks-suburbs-can-tell-us-about-the-mood-of-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/299695\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | \u2018It\u2019s Chaos\u2019: What New York\u2019s Suburbs Can Tell Us About the Mood of the Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the U.S. midterm elections less than four months away, Times Opinion wants to know from voters across the country: How is your America doing?<\/p>\n

Mara Gay, an Opinion writer for The New York Times, traveled to the Hudson Valley \u2014 the suburbs north of New York City \u2014 to hear what voters are thinking, feeling and worried about as the election approaches.<\/p>\n

She spoke with small-business owners, single mothers, college students and others about what they want to change in their communities and the country, how they\u2019re navigating inflation and how they feel about the Democratic Party, Donald Trump and the direction of America.<\/p>\n

Below is an edited transcript of this video. We recommend watching it in its original form for the full effect. You can do so using the video player above.<\/p>\n

Mara Gay: Hey, how\u2019s it going? Yeah, you. I know things have been pretty crazy lately. So I thought I\u2019d check in. How are you doing, America?<\/p>\n

Today I\u2019m in New York\u2019s suburbs, one of the places that will decide control of Congress this fall. And I\u2019m asking folks: Are you a voter? How do you feel about taxing the rich? What\u2019s the best thing Donald Trump has done? What\u2019s the worst? What are politicians missing about how life in America actually is today?<\/p>\n

Gay: If you were to describe America right now in one word right now, what word would you use?<\/p>\n

Gessenia Arce: Scary.<\/p>\n

Tamica Hall: Disastrous.<\/p>\n

Natalia Hayden: Chaos.<\/p>\n

Edwin Minter: Rebuilding.<\/p>\n

John Martin: The country\u2019s in trouble.<\/p>\n

Eric Hayden: Despair.<\/p>\n

Dottie Daniti: Terrible decline.<\/p>\n

David Gray-Schofield: It\u2019s just bad, it is just bad.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Only about one in ten Americans think Congress is doing a good job.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: I don\u2019t think folks have ever been more pessimistic.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Neither party is really popular right now.<\/p>\n

Gay: Nice to meet you, Virginia. And who\u2019s this?<\/p>\n

Virginia Colon: This is Melanie.<\/p>\n

Gay: Hi, Melanie. What would you like to see from a politician? What would you like them to do that they\u2019re not doing?<\/p>\n

Colon: Please, the economy. Hear the people out. Let us be a voice that you can hear us, really hear us. The food I used to buy, I can\u2019t afford it anymore.<\/p>\n

Gay: What food do you miss the most?<\/p>\n

Colon: The meat! The steak! Yeah, we can\u2019t even afford to eat some steak. It\u2019s not like we did it all the time, but we like to cook out.<\/p>\n

Gay: Do you own or rent a home?<\/p>\n

Colon: I rent. I can\u2019t even afford to buy.<\/p>\n

Gay: Would you like to buy at some point?<\/p>\n

Colon: I was. I have savings for that. And I can\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n

Gay: Has the rent gone up?<\/p>\n

Colon: Yes. To the point that I had to get a second job, so it\u2019s been a lot.<\/p>\n

Tina Westhoff: I definitely think that the cost of living is very difficult right now. I am a mother of five; I\u2019m single by choice. I\u2019m middle-class. The government doesn\u2019t help me at all. I\u2019m not saying that because I\u2019m looking for anything. But I think we give too much to people that are not doing their part.<\/p>\n

Gay: Did you vote for Donald Trump?<\/p>\n

Westhoff: I did.<\/p>\n

Gay: What is the best thing Trump has done so far?<\/p>\n

Westhoff: It\u2019s more of what he stopped, rather than what he did. I don\u2019t believe that our border should be open. I am pro-life. I don\u2019t believe that we should have abortions up until nine months.<\/p>\n

Gay: And do you feel like you support him still today?<\/p>\n

Westhoff: I do. To be quite honest with you, I\u2019m not in love with Donald Trump. That\u2019s not how it is. But I support him because I think that between the two candidates that we had, he was the better option, and I still feel that he is.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: With the way the party is heading, Democrats could be out of power for the next 15 years.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: The Democratic Party is in serious trouble.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: The party has gone between stagnation and retrogression.<\/p>\n

Gay: I wonder what you would like to see from the Democratic Party that you haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Gray-Schofield: I would like to see the Democratic Party talk more about nuts-and-bolts stuff. I think they got very distracted with transgender sports. Everybody has rights for this and rights for that. I don\u2019t disagree with that, but there\u2019s way too much attention paid to that.<\/p>\n

People were rolling their eyes. I was rolling my eyes. Like, come on. We have to talk about what to do about transportation, what to do about health care, food insecurity, all these things that affect people day to day.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: An affordability crisis looms over Americans.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Many low- and middle-income paychecks aren\u2019t keeping up with inflation.<\/p>\n

Gay: What do you think is the worst thing that Donald Trump has done so far?<\/p>\n

Hall: Taking away health care from a lot of people, cutting people\u2019s benefits. I don\u2019t think he really realizes how hard it is for someone to take care of their family.<\/p>\n

Gay: Can I ask about what percentage of your paycheck you\u2019re spending on rent?<\/p>\n

Hall: Maybe 70 percent of it?<\/p>\n

Gay: Seventy percent?<\/p>\n

Hall: Yeah. I just had an increase within the last few months.<\/p>\n

Gay: Have you ever gone, yourself, without food?<\/p>\n

Hall: Many a time, yeah.<\/p>\n

Gay: How often in a week or a month is it that you skip a meal so that your kids can have something?<\/p>\n

Hall: Maybe three times a week, three or four times. As long as they eat, I\u2019m good.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Everyday people are struggling, and the income divide is only getting worse.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Historic cuts to health care and SNAP.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: This is the biggest cut back in the U.S. social safety net in history.<\/p>\n

Gay: How do you feel about taxing billionaires and multimillionaires? Do you think they should pay more?<\/p>\n

Hall: I\u2019m a stylist, but I also do taxes. I always say to the people that I work with, \u201cI would love to see Donald Trump\u2019s taxes so I can see how he got to zero.\u201d It\u2019s very hard to get to zero, so I\u2019m just wondering how he does it all the time.<\/p>\n

Carol Migliorelli: If you\u2019ve got like five houses, come on. You should be taxed a little bit more.<\/p>\n

Gay: We\u2019re talking about the super wealthy.<\/p>\n

Migliorelli: Yes.<\/p>\n

Gay: Not people who are \u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

Migliorelli: No, not like me. Come on. I\u2019m barely \u2014 I\u2019m hanging on, guys. I\u2019m crawling.<\/p>\n

Gay: What income do you think is the right amount to say they should pay a little more?<\/p>\n

Migliorelli: I don\u2019t know. I can\u2019t put a number on it. Do you know why? Because I can\u2019t imagine that amount of money. And when people tell me, I\u2019m like, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: These elections, it\u2019s almost going to be the billionaire donor class versus the American voter.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Democrats are hoping to seize on voter frustrations with the president.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Will there be this huge national political shift?<\/p>\n

Gay: Are you planning to vote in this year\u2019s election?<\/p>\n

Hall: Oh, absolutely.<\/p>\n

Colon: Definitely.<\/p>\n

Gray-Schofield: Don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever missed a year.<\/p>\n

Gay: Do you think you\u2019ll vote this year?<\/p>\n

Samora Vanderpuije: I will not.<\/p>\n

Gay: No. OK, so tell me why.<\/p>\n

Vanderpuije: It\u2019s a circus. It just seems like \u2014 it reminds me of the popularity contest in middle school. Whoever can meme harder or mud-sling better is going to end up on top. That\u2019s basically what it is: a popularity contest.<\/p>\n

Gay: Let me ask you this. The Democrats and the Republicans have never had, in our lifetimes, such wildly different visions for the country. But yet, you\u2019re saying it\u2019s kind of all the same. So what makes you feel that way, voting?<\/p>\n

Vanderpuije: Because of a complete lack of transparency on both sides. And even beyond that. It\u2019s gotten to the point where dishonesty is just the new norm. It\u2019s like: Let\u2019s just lie about everything. Anybody that\u2019s honest can get a vote from me. I haven\u2019t seen honesty in politics, which is why I haven\u2019t been voting.<\/p>\n

Gay: What\u2019s the dream?<\/p>\n

Vanderpuije: The dream? Complete economic freedom, and I would want that for myself and everybody I know \u2014 my family, my friends, people in general.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: Fifty-seven percent say the American dream is dead.<\/p>\n

Archival news clip: One in three Americans under 35 is now still residing at home.<\/p>\n

Arce: My mom, when she got to this country, she cleaned houses. My dad does construction till this day, and I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s ever going to be able to retire. What drives me is to be able to help my parents. I just want them to be able to rest and stop working.<\/p>\n

Gay: How do you feel about being an American these days? Is that a part of your identity in a significant way? How do you think about that?<\/p>\n

Arce: I don\u2019t think I\u2019m proud to be an American. It\u2019s so funny because we celebrate the Fourth of July and my cousins are like, \u201cYou\u2019re so American, Gess.\u201d Yeah, I grew up here, but I\u2019m never going to fully be from here because it\u2019s not what I stand for.<\/p>\n

Gay: Do you think that if the country changed, your feelings about that might change?<\/p>\n

Arce: Yeah, I would say so. But when you have the wrong people running the U.S., it\u2019s not something you\u2019re proud of. I just hope that we\u2019re able to do something to get these rich people out.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Mara Gay<\/p>\n

Opinion writer<\/p>\n

Understanding how people experience American politics is one of my favorite parts of the job.It\u2019s even more interesting when you have the chance to dive deeper with voters, asking not only about their views on policy or candidates, but also listening to the stories that have shaped who they are and how they think about themselves as Americans. With the country in tumult and dissatisfaction toward both political parties among voters widespread, this felt more urgent than ever. It\u2019s a good moment to get curious, not only about what Americans want to see from politicians, but what life has been like for them so far in the second Trump era.This is what led us to get out into the country and spend time with voters in battleground counties, asking them probing questions about what they want to see from politicians and from democracy itself. Filming these interviews allowed us to capture a small slice of life in several distinct communities, just a sampling of a vast and diverse country with people of every background and ambition.Speaking of Americana, you\u2019ll notice we chose to have these conversations in a restaurant booth, a nod to the country\u2019s diner culture. We had fun. But for me, this reporting is driven by an urgent question: What will it take to build a political coalition in America not only to defeat Trumpism, but actually make life better for Americans? The moment to find out is now.<\/p>\n

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