CNN’s John King met with Ohio voters this week and found that the ruby red MAGA state was showing purple cracks just in time for the midterm elections.

“As we head into the midterms, the jobs [Donald Trump] promised are not here. The revival in American manufacturing he promised is not here,” King said while driving through Northeast Ohio in a segment that aired on Friday. “Manufacturing employment is up a bit of late, but down 80,000 jobs overall since Trump returned to the White House. American auto manufacturing down 25,000 jobs in Trump’s second term.”

King stopped to talk with the Mahoning Co. Democratic chairman, Chris Anderson, who said he expected Ohio to elect it first Democratic governor in 15 years, and to flip an important Senate seat to blue.

“They got conned by a con man,” Anderson said of Ohio’s Trump voters.

“What do you see that tells you that things are different?” King asked.

“I mean, drive around Mahoning County,” Anderson said. “For eight years, there were Trump signs on every corner. There were flags. You couldn’t go to a grocery store without seeing those red MAGA hats — I challenge you to find one.”

King spoke to a combat veteran who said, “I let myself get — I don’t want to say radicalized — but I was very right wing,” he said once he left the service. He now views Trump and MAGA as “dangerous to democracy.”

“I’ve talked to a lot of people whose views are changing, even in my own family,” the veteran said. “So I am hopeful that that is starting to fracture.”

One sheep farmer King spoke to was upset over healthcare costs, but said he didn’t blame Trump, he blamed Congress. He said he still planned to vote Republican in the midterms, and said he loves Trump because the president “loves the fight.”

“Oh, he loves a fight. And that’s great. That’s why I voted for him,” he said. “This world’s got way too many pearl clutchers.”

Another combat veteran grew emotional when talking about his two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Like it’s weird. I don’t know, 20 years. And then we’re dealing with Iran. So it’s like what the f*ck is this — It’s just, it’s a unique timing thing,” the veteran said. “Guys are trying to navigate their own healing journey. And now it’s like, okay, it’s scratching that scab again, right?”

The veteran said he voted for Trump in 2016 and 2024, “but he’s voting for Democrats in 2026 because he believes the country needs to send Trump a midterm message,” King said.

The veteran continued, “I am pro-military, and I am — We have a strong need to protect this country. I know there are threats and I know there are enemies that want to see the downfall of this country. But you can’t can’t be flippant about war. You can’t — you cannot.”

“The shine’s kind of coming off the the Trump presidency. You really kind of see through the true core of who he is versus what he campaigned on,” he said.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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