Omel\u00ed Rodr\u00edguez voted for Donald Trump because she sees him as a \u201cstrong\u201d leader who makes decisions with ease. The U.S. President\u2019s war on Iran, she contends, is justified because he is defending Israel from a bellicose regional rival. But she wants the conflict over as soon as possible: The rising price of gasoline is squeezing her budget, and she worries about having to pay more for food.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe war is a loss for the U.S. because it\u2019s raising prices on everything. I would like it to end,\u201d said Ms. Rodr\u00edguez, 36, as she worked the counter at a Dominican caf\u00e9 in York, Pa., one recent weekday afternoon. \u201cIt\u2019s brought more crisis to this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the fighting approaches the one-month mark, Mr. Trump is vacillating between escalating the war with a ground invasion and seeking a swift, negotiated end. The consequences of a conflict in the Middle East are roiling the global economy: Oil prices have spiked 50 per cent and are threatening to drive up the costs of food and other goods amid fertilizer shortages and higher transportation costs.<\/p>\n
Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Omel\u00ed Rodr\u00edguez voted for Donald Trump and thinks his war with Iran in justified. But the economic consequences of the conflict are being felt at the gas station and grocery stores where she lives in York.<\/p>\n It is people such as Ms. Rodr\u00edguez, in places such as York, who will determine whether the President faces electoral backlash for this. This area is part of Pennsylvania\u2019s 10th congressional district, which the Republicans won in 2024 by a single percentage point and is certain to be one of the country\u2019s most hotly contested districts in November\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n Among voters in this town of 45,000 in the forested hills of southern Pennsylvania, views on the war vary widely. Some see it as necessary to destroy the military capabilities of a rogue state. Others view it as a needless and deadly distraction from bread-and-butter economic concerns. Many agree with its premise but express deep unease with its unintended effects.<\/p>\n Jim Reynolds, a 73-year-old retired math professor, said the war \u201cstarted out as a good thing\u201d but that the U.S. appeared to have underestimated the capacity of Iran\u2019s regime to resist. He worried that now the only way out for Mr. Trump would be to send in troops to secure Tehran\u2019s enriched uranium and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, whose closing by Iran has caused petroleum shortages.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m afraid that, if we\u2019re going to be successful, we\u2019re going to have to have boots on the ground and widen the war. It has the potential to blow up for the entire world,\u201d Mr. Reynolds said as he ate lunch at a mall food court on the outskirts of town. \u201cWe probably didn\u2019t have the best battle plan in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Open this photo in gallery:<\/a>Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n Pennsylvania\u2019s 10th congressional district, which includes the town of York, will be one of the country\u2019s most hotly contested districts in the midterm elections later this year.Joe Lamberti\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n It all reminded him of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which was initially sold as a short operation to remove dictator Saddam Hussein but turned into a protracted war.<\/p>\n A registered Democrat, Mr. Reynolds said he voted for Mr. Trump in 2024 because he felt then-president Joe Biden had mismanaged the U.S. border with Mexico and not done enough to combat inflation. But he soured on the President over his belligerent treatment of Canada and other friendly countries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve gone out of our way to alienate almost every ally we had. I can\u2019t blame the other countries who haven\u2019t rallied to the cause on Iran,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n