I’ve noticed an emerging current of thought among friends on the political left, neatly summarized by the headline of a recent New Yorker interview with Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin: “Trump Voters Are in for a Rude Awakening.”
The idea is that people who voted for Donald Trump last November are now getting exactly what they wished for, or will soon. Or that they weren’t really paying attention when they voted and now they’re seeing the president’s true colors.
This flattening of perspective may amount to hopefulness or cynicism or both — but it’s not helpful. It suggests Trump supporters voted absent-mindedly and failed to anchor their selection in legitimate concerns about their own prospects or those of the nation. Not only does this view risk further polarizing our public discourse – it’s also largely wrong.
Welcome to the second Monitor Political Survey. We invited Trump voters to complete an online questionnaire about their satisfaction with his performance relative to their expectations last November.
More than 40 did so — not a statistically significant sample, but enough to take seriously. (17 Kamala Harris voters also filled out the survey and are, for the record, uniformly unhappy. They’ll get their say another time.) Of those, four agreed to join an online focus group to explain their thoughts and feelings at greater depth.
Here’s what I learned: Core Trump supporters, the folks political analysts describe as devoted conservatives, have few regrets.
Susanne Schultz, a Boulder resident and a thoughtful representative of the mainstream right, said Trump “has done more than I expected. Some things haven’t been done in the fashion I would have liked. But I felt safer the day he took office. I feel like America is in better hands with him at the helm.”
Schultz feels government has been bloated for too long and that immigration has been out of control. She supports the president’s approach to tariffs. Viewing Trump as the right leader for this moment, she believed he was charting the right course.
Among those who, like Schultz, said they felt confident voting for Trump last fall — about 80% of participants — nearly all were thrilled with what they’ve seen in Washington so far. “I got exactly what I voted for and I’m happy with my choice,” said one. Another wrote: “Trump was needed to wake the country up.”
These confident Trump voters were split when asked about the near future. While a majority agreed with the statement, “the nation is moving in the right direction,” many hedged with a more cautious assessment: “The nation will experience significant short-term disruption and pain. But the long-term pay-off probably will be worth it.”
One participant in the latter camp wrote: “People are so used to instant gratification that I think it is hard for [them] to be patient and let these changes take effect and provide the desired outcome.” David Reynolds, who lives south of Boulder, said a period of change is needed: “My experience is no pain, no gain. We have a lot of things to correct.”
The Trump administration’s shock-and-awe tariff strategy has increased the average effective rate on America’s trading partners 10-fold, from 2.5% to 27% (before this week’s deal with China), and left some economists predicting a recession. But focus group participants agreed that any short-term economic fall-out would be worth it if the tariffs corrected a systemic imbalance.
“It’s going to be like pulling the band-aid off a bit,” said Clancy resident Brad Culver. Added another participant: “We understood what he was doing – stirring the pot to let everyone know that [tariffs] were way out of balance, so we’re going to renegotiate.” The economy and the stock market would experience some instability, she predicted, but “eventually will even out.”
Trump supporters gave the president very high marks for his handling of immigration, education, public safety, and diversity, equity and inclusion. They were less satisfied, though, with his management of the economy. Participants agreed that government spending needed to be dialed back — “As taxpayers, we cannot continue in the direction we were heading,” one wrote — but several expressed concern with Trump’s aggressive cost-cutting measures. “He is using a machete,” said one, “where a scalpel is appropriate.”
One focus group participant noted that a more effective alternative to the Department of Government Efficiency’s chainsaw approach would be to ask government staffers how operations could be improved and craft a reform plan based on their insights.
Some Trump supporters expressed frustration. One formerly “confident” voter said the first 100 days had been very different than expected, leaving them deeply dissatisfied. And participants who recalled being “somewhat concerned” in November about the prospect of a Trump presidency or who saw Trump as the lesser of two evils were more likely to express dissatisfaction with Trump and saw the nation headed in the wrong direction.
“So much hate and no concern for the voters,” wrote one such voter. “The rich man telling us the things we don’t need and how we can handle the rough times.” The administration, wrote another, was “chaotic, which I expected, but far more incompetent than I expected.” A third said: “I should have listened to my liberal friends. He’s a narcissist and pure evil.”
But the president’s core supporters aren’t going anywhere. Of course, this doesn’t mean their views are right or in the U.S.’ best interests. Personally, I disagree with the persistent narrative of an America in decline that seems to inform the views of many Trump voters.
But many also are inspired by hope for a better future — as are we all. They have reasons for voting as they did and feeling good about the result. These folks seem unwavering in their support — willing to forgive Trump’s character and style and accept the expected bumps along the way.
Rather than a rude awakening, many view this as their moment in the sun. It’s hard to say how long it might last.
