Trump Voters Explain Why A Slice Of His Base Is Unhappy With His Economic Performance

Billy Edmonson voted for President Donald Trump successful 2024 because of his stances connected separator security, weapon authorities and nan economy. One twelvemonth aft casting his ballot, Edmonson is uncovering it difficult to make ends meet.

“Everything’s already truthful expensive. ... That’s nan worst point astir his presidency truthful far, is he promised things coming down and prices are not coming down. I make much money than I’ve ever made successful my life correct now, and it has, financially, been a struggle,” said Edmonson, a 35-year-old building worker from Missouri.

Edmonson recalled that Trump promised to commencement lowering prices connected his first time successful office.

“It conscionable doesn’t look for illustration there’s been a full batch of attraction on, ‘Hey, let’s get these prices down.’ It’s conscionable been like, ‘Hey, prices are precocious because Biden did this.’ It’s like, well, Biden’s not successful agency anymore,” said Edmonson, a self-described independent, later adding, “It’s personally frustrating.”

Edmonson is not alone. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of registered voters, including 30% of Republicans, said successful nan caller national NBC News poll that Trump has fallen short of their expectations connected nan costs of surviving and nan economy. After being 1 of nan large reasons why Trump won a return to nan White House successful 2024, Trump’s capacity connected nan system has go 1 of nan large drags connected his 2nd term.

While a number of Trump voters told NBC News successful January that they’d springiness Trump a comparatively agelong leash to amended nan economy, nan caller interviews propose that for immoderate he’s moving retired of slack.

Trump himself has formed uncertainty connected surveys showing Americans are anxious astir nan economy, telling Fox News this week, “I deliberation polls are fake. We person nan top system we’ve ever had.”

NBC News said to 18 Trump voters who participated successful nan astir caller NBC News canvass and said Trump had not met their expectations connected nan system to research really this group was reasoning astir Trump and experiencing nan system — and whether they were still committed to supporting his party.

None regretted their ballot for Trump past year, successful galore cases because of a heavy vexation pinch Democrats. A fistful said they’d beryllium unfastened to voting for Democrats successful nan future, though astir planned to support voting Republican.

When it comes to nan economy, galore said nan symptom they’re emotion is real.

“He and his advisers declare nan state is going well, prices are going down, nan tariffs are doing wonderfully,” Susan, a 66-year-old retiree from Nevada, said of Trump. (Several interviewees declined to stock their past sanction erstwhile discussing politics, pinch immoderate citing nan nation’s polarized governmental atmosphere.)

“But erstwhile you spell to nan store, nan prices are up,” she added.

Navigating precocious prices

During and aft his 2024 campaign, Trump not only promised to halt ostentation but to bring prices little aft respective years of post-Covid growth. That promise, made moreover though wide consumer prices fundamentally ne'er alteration complete time, cuts to nan halfway of immoderate of his voters’ complaints.

“It’s ever difficult to bring down prices erstwhile personification other has screwed thing up for illustration [President Joe Biden] did,” Trump said during a news convention successful January, weeks earlier being sworn in. “We’re going to person prices down. I deliberation you’re going to spot immoderate beautiful drastic value reductions.”

Jeremiah, a 48-year-old Republican from Utah who useful successful nan aerospace industry, has voted for Trump each clip he ran for president and backed him past twelvemonth because he saw Trump arsenic a alteration agent. But he said Trump’s handling of nan system truthful acold has been “mediocre.”

“I was decidedly hoping to spot a batch of prices travel backmost down, for illustration state for your car, diesel, utilities, groceries. I was hoping to spot it each travel backmost down and level retired astatine least, but it’s not. It conscionable keeps getting worse,” Jeremiah said.

“I person a 20-year-old boy and a 17-year-old daughter, and they can’t unrecorded connected their own,” he later added. “My son’s a welder, and he makes $28 an hour, and he’s still not retired connected his own. Everything is conscionable truthful overpriced. It’s ridiculous. When I graduated precocious school, I moved retired and had a $300 a period apartment, portion of cake, 10 bucks an hour.”

Edmonson, nan Missouri building worker, noted that he travels often for work. But motel and market prices person jumped, moreover for items for illustration a tin of soup, he said. And nan precocious costs person him reconsidering his activity connected nan road.

“It’s almost getting to nan constituent wherever it’s clip for maine to find thing astatine home,” Edmonson said, later adding, “Because if I’m gonna sink, I mightiness arsenic good descend astatine home.”

Patty, a 70-year-old Republican retiree from Pennsylvania, blamed Trump for nan country’s economical woes.

Trump, she said, “has ever been a very rich | man. He’s ne'er had to do thing his full life. He’s ne'er had to spell shop. So, he has nary thought what a existent moving personification successful their regular life has to do.”

“I was amazed that nan groceries haven’t went down. In fact, they support going up. So that would beryllium my biggest disappointment,” said Roxanne Novit, a 69-year-old retiree from Colorado and a self-described Republican.

Susan, nan Nevada retiree who is not registered pinch immoderate party, said Trump’s handling of nan system “is not astatine each what I expected,” noting she was hopeful Trump would attraction connected “opening up mining and gasoline exploration.”

“It seems for illustration they’re moving a small slow connected that because they’re spending each nan clip connected nan tariffs aliases making bully to nan Chinese president aliases thing for illustration that,” Susan said.

Giving him time

But immoderate voters were consenting to springiness Trump immoderate much clip to move things around, moreover among nan subset who said they judge he’s fallen short. Overall, astir Republicans still backmost Trump connected nan system and different issues, according to nan NBC News canvass and different surveys.

“I would for illustration to spot nan system move up a small quicker, but everything takes time. You can’t expect it overnight,” said independent Robert Duran, 68, a retired rule enforcement serviceman from Massachusetts.

William Scheuer, a 68-year-old New Yorker, who said he voted for Trump successful 2024 because he’s “old-fashioned” connected things for illustration societal issues, agreed that Trump has been “falling a small short” connected nan economy, specifically noting prices.

“Everything’s going up, it’s going up much than what nan authorities is telling you,” he said, earlier adding he’s “confident [Trump] will” move it around.

Craig Lovejoy, a 32-year-old Florida independent who useful successful (seed) disease control, said Trump is doing “better than many” presidents connected addressing nan economy.

“I don’t deliberation that 1 president will beryllium each it takes to get things backmost connected track, but I deliberation we’re headed successful nan correct direction,” Lovejoy said.

Some voters were sympathetic to Trump’s tariff policies successful particular, moreover arsenic they were navigating higher prices.

“The steak I utilized to bargain that utilized to beryllium for illustration 40 bucks is now 80. I get it,” said Jason Olson, a 50-year-old small-business proprietor from South Carolina who typically backs Republicans. “And I cognize tariffs person raised prices connected a batch of things arsenic well. But I besides understand nan logic down nan tariffs are they want to bring manufacture backmost to nan U.S.”

Tim Fleming, a 42-year-old self-described libertarian who useful successful injection molding astatine a mill successful Tennessee, agreed that Trump’s presidency has been “a small disappointing.” He raised frustrations astir really Trump’s promise not to taxation overtime and tips was implemented arsenic a taxation deduction, truthful he and others won’t spot nan fruits of that until they record their taxes adjacent year.

“My overtime is still getting taxed; my bonuses are still getting taxed,” he said. “It was not what it was made retired to be.”

But he noted he believes he’s seen nan nonstop fruits of Trump’s tariff push: nan return of jobs successful his region that had been offshored to Mexico.

“The tariffs helped create a batch of jobs wherever I live,” Fleming said.

Those comments travel arsenic nan White House has tried to reason nan management is making important strides connected affordability.

“The president has done a batch that has already paid disconnected successful little liking rates and little inflation, but we inherited a disaster from Joe Biden and Rome wasn’t built successful a day. We’re going to support connected moving to make a decent life affordable successful this country, and that’s nan metric by which we’ll yet beryllium judged successful 2026 and beyond,” Vice President JD Vance wrote connected X nan time aft Election Day.

Down connected Democrats

While respective Trump voters raised concerns astir nan system and precocious prices, nary of nan voters, who are mostly Republicans aliases independents, said they regretted their prime past year.

“I wouldn’t alteration my vote, but I’m not happy,” said Elliot Muegge, a 32-year-old husbandman from Oklahoma.

Amanda, a 48-year-old postal worker from Missouri, said she still finds it difficult to make a fund because of precocious nutrient prices. But, she said, she thinks erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris “would person been worse.”

A self-described conservative, Amanda said she would beryllium unfastened to supporting a Democratic campaigner successful a early election, but “not a progressive, much for illustration an old-school Democrat.”

A fistful of Trump voters besides said they would beryllium unfastened to supporting Democrats successful nan future, depending connected nan candidate. But others said backing a Democrat was disconnected nan table.

“I deliberation that they pander to friend groups and minorities and they look silly doing it. It’s fake,” Fleming, of Tennessee, said.

“I haven’t recovered a azygous Democrat” that inspires trust, said Lovejoy, of Florida.

Edmonson, nan Missouri building worker, said it could beryllium years earlier he considers supporting a Democratic candidate, noting his beardown support for weapon rights.

“They conscionable don’t attraction astir group successful general. They want to opportunity they attraction astir people, but that — to me, each they want is, is votes,” Edmonson said, noting he is still disappointment pinch Trump.

“I don’t consciousness for illustration I tin ballot for a Democrat candidate,” Edmonson said. “I consciousness for illustration I don’t person a campaigner really.”

Still, others who are unfastened to backing Democrats pass that nan economical angst coursing done nan state — which Trump utilized to his advantage amid anger astatine nan Biden management successful 2024 — could construe to governmental losses for Republicans.

“Did he not committedness nan American group — Day 1 — that prices were going to spell down? We are now successful Month 11 and things proceed to rise,” said Patty, nan 70-year-old Pennsylvanian. While she said she regularly votes Republican, she’s divided her summons successful nan past, and she said she likes her state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro.

“The Republican Party is successful for a rude awakening, and I deliberation it’s not a bad thing,” she added.

Muegge, from Oklahoma, shared a akin sentiment astir nan system hurting Trump’s governmental standing. While he doesn’t blasted Trump specifically for nan costs of living, he expressed vexation astir really he “unfairly manipulates nan markets pinch his societal media presence.”

He pointed to a caller speech he had pinch his father, besides a Republican.

“He and I were having a conversation, and he said, ‘I dislike Trump.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, you do, too? I thought I was unsocial connected this island,’” he said.

“I don’t cognize if different group are saying that softly down their ain closed doors and past pounding their thorax successful public,” he said. “I conscionable don’t know.”