In Swainsboro, Georgia, Jessie and Carter Meadows once saw Donald Trump as the outsider who would revive the economy and shake up Washington.
Now, as small business owners running a flower shop and a funeral home, they’re feeling the sting of tariffs, inflation, and fading optimism.
“The king frog of the swamp.”
That’s how Georgia business owner Jessie Meadows now describes President Donald Trump, a man she once believed would save her family’s struggling flower shop.
Meadows and her husband, Carter, say they’re losing faith in the leader they helped put back in office.
Their story, reported by The Washington Post, highlights the gap between Trump’s promises and the everyday realities facing some of his most loyal voters.
‘We Just Needed to Hold On Until Trump Got Back’
Jessie Meadows told her mother-in-law not to panic when their flower shop slowed down last year.
She believed that if they could just hold on until Trump returned to office, things would turn around for their business.
But that turnaround never came. Orders have stayed low, and costs have gone up.
A box of imported faux berries recently arrived with a note saying the price was up 17 percent because of Trump’s tariffs.
“Fruit’s getting outrageous now,” Jessie told a customer, explaining why gift baskets were suddenly more expensive.
Her husband Carter, is seeing similar problems at his funeral home, where suppliers have raised prices.
He voted for Trump, believing he’d be good for the economy, but now calls the tariffs “unplanned and childish.”
Still, he added, “I’m not an economist. Probably going to hurt before it gets better.”
Tariffs and Disappointment
Trump promised to cut energy costs, bring prices down, and “drain the swamp.” But for the Meadows family, it feels like little has changed.
Jessie has even started questioning Trump’s attitude toward MAGA supporters demanding full disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein’s files after the president called the controversy “the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”
When she read Trump’s Truth Social post dismissing his own base, she thought it must be fake. When she realized it wasn’t, she was furious.
“MAGA does not depend on one man,” she said. “And if he abandons the movement, then we can continue on without him.”
Still MAGA, But Losing Faith
The couple says they still agree with many of Trump’s policies, especially on immigration, but they feel he’s drifted from the outsider image that first drew them in.
Jessie summed up her disappointment “It seems like he went up there and just made himself the king frog of the swamp.”
Despite their growing doubts, Jessie and Carter still identify with the MAGA movement.
They’ve cut back on spending, skipped paychecks, and even taken casseroles to stretch their budget. But they don’t want their children, including their 9-year-old son who proudly wears his MAGA hat, to feel their disillusionment.
“I don’t want to mess up a 9-year-old’s version of the president of the United States by saying I’m not happy that the president is doing this, this, this,” Jessie said.
For now, the Meadowses say they’re still waiting for the economic recovery they were promised, but they’re no longer sure Trump is the one who can deliver it.
Looking Ahead
As the 2026 midterms approach, the Meadows family represents a broader sense of unease among some Trump supporters.
They’re not turning away from the movement itself, but they are increasingly skeptical of the man leading it.
Jessie said she and Carter had hoped for more progress by now, but they remain disappointed by what they’ve seen so far.
IMAGE CREDIT: “Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.