In interviews, a dozen people told Suffolk University pollsters they were voting Again, Trump says they fondly remember the state of the country when he was in office and want it back. Now they are suffering financially, their personal decline coinciding with President Biden’s time in office. Or they have more global concerns, whether it’s the economy or immigration, and they believe — as they did eight years ago, and again four years ago — that Trump is best suited to address both. Some say they just can’t stand the alternatives on the ballot.

So they plan to fill the bubble for Trump, almost all of them for the third election in a row.

“And every time,” said Brian Jankins, 55, of Sutton, “I’m like, ‘I’ll never do that again.’ “

Even in Massachusetts, a state the former president never won, saw his support slip away. He got about one in three votes in 2016 and 2020, and looks poised again, drawing from a base that Recent Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll The shows are predominantly white, mostly 50 or older and male.

They generally say they are not bothered by the criminal cases against Trump or are willing to look past them. Pulling on him in 2016 because he wasn’t a career politician, many say they believe in him more than two presidential campaigns later.

“I’m stronger with it now than ever,” said Arthur Paquette, a 76-year-old car salesman from Leicester. An independent voter who identifies as a conservative, Paquette said he plans to vote for Trump a third time because he considers his time in office a success.

“No wars during his administration, stable economy, good stock market. . . . When he was there, how was the country doing? Was it better than now?” Paquette said. “I would say yes.”

Some even go back to Trump. Billie Cleghorn, a 48-year-old botanist from Haverhill, said he voted for Trump in 2016 and then for Biden in 2020, saying he was “caught up in the political climate.” Trump, he said, seemed like a “bad choice” and had nothing against Biden, who emerged from a crowded Democratic field.

His vision changed dramatically. Cleghorn, an Army veteran, said he disagreed with Biden’s handling of foreign wars — “We’re ready to fight the whole world,” he said — or the economy. He said he personally felt the pressure of rising interest rates, which prevented him from buying a home.

“I’m not a Trumper,” Cleghorn said. But he said he can no longer support the Democratic Party either. “My life has gotten significantly harder since Biden took office.”

He is not alone. Roberta Winston, 72, said she retired from a career as a kitchen and bathroom designer only to feel the need two years ago to take a part-time job at a local store . It is not for additional expenses, she said.

“My utility bills skyrocketed. Food is skyrocketing. The rent has gone up. It’s extremely hard to live with,” said the Harwich resident.

She said she voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 and plans to do so again, her unwavering confidence in indictment against him, his criminal conviction for falsifying business records — a first for a former president — and more legal troubles this has consumed Trump since he left office.

“Some people just hate it. That’s how they are. They don’t like him and they never will,” said Jessie Kibbe, a 48-year-old independent voter from Palmer who is voting for Trump for the third time.

“People don’t like honesty sometimes,” she said. “They want people to buzz around them and pretend, ‘Oh, that’s good.’ And no, it isn’t. Something needs to be said and someone is saying it.”

Still, Trump’s rhetoric is giving some supporters pause, at least to some extent. In recent weeks, Trump has labeled Democrats as “enemy from within”, and hinted at the possibility of military action against them. Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, said in recent interviews with The New York Times and The Atlantic that Trump suggested that Adolf Hitler “did some good things” and that, as president, Trump said that they needed similar “German generals”. next to him.

“What he’s been saying lately is crazy,” said Greg Benefit, a 69-year-old retired nurse and independent voter from Plymouth. “The enemy within”. It’s crazy. What are we talking about here? . . . He seems to be getting paranoid.

“But,” Benefit continued, “when you get down to business, he’s not afraid to say what he says. That’s the only reason I’m voting for him.”

Jim Pero, a Salisbury Republican, said he personally doesn’t care for Trump. “He’s impatient, arrogant, narcissistic, a bad communicator,” said the 67-year-old business analyst.

Sutton resident Jankins also ticked off why he doesn’t like Trump. “There is too much instability in his administration – I think it is because of his ego. He surrounds himself with people yes,” he said.

But both men said they would vote for Trump despite those reservations. Pero said the Republican platform — not the person — is what matters most to him. For Jankins, who said he works in banking, it’s the economy; he believes Trump best understands how to help grow “what separates us and what keeps us as a superpower.”

“Trust me,” he added of endorsing Trump again. “It’s not easy.”

Indeed, some say simply being a Trump supporter is difficult, even dangerous, in a state that hasn’t endorsed a Republican for president in four decades.

John, a 61-year-old man The Methuen small business owner said Trump spoke to the working class in his 2016 victory and delivered quite a bit, including with tax cuts.

Saying that publicly, he said, can have consequences. John declined to give his last name or identify what type of work he does for fear of clients “cancelling” his business. He also chose not to place a Trump campaign sign.

“People like me, they’re afraid to put it out on their front lawn for fear of punishment,” he said. “It’s just too dangerous.”

Others are not so ashamed. Danny Gallant, a 56-year-old landscaper from Leicester, said that as an independent voter he did not necessarily identify with the republicans but wished there was a third party – “MAGA”.

— Trump doesn’t care. He will cut down the dead wood. This is how the country succeeds,” Gallant said. “A country is only as good as its worst residents. And he wants to get rid of the evil inhabitants.

“I want King Trump,” he said, “if you ask me.”

Matt Stout can be reached at [email protected]. Follow L @mattpstout.