BBC News, Washington DC
BBCWhen Donald Trump made a historic return to power earlier this year, it was with the help of voters who represented a diverse coalition of backgrounds – truck drivers, veterans, business owners and more.
They represented a wide range of perspectives that helped explain Trump’s enduring appeal. But 100 days after he took office, how do his staunchest supporters feel now?
The BBC has returned to five of them. Here’s what they had to say about the promises he kept, the pledges he has yet to address, and what they want next.
‘If this doesn’t work, I’ll say it’s a mistake’
Ronda ChurchillLuiz Oliveira says he “can’t keep up” with the rapid policy changes Trump has made in his first 100 days.
On immigration, he has appreciated the flurry of new border restrictions and the emphasis on deportations, including sending men to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador. Encounters between migrants and US border agents at the US-Mexico are now at a four-year low.
The issue is important to Luiz, a Brazilian who came to the US legally in the 1980s and now lives in Nevada. Echoing Trump, he describes the influx of migrants in recent years as an “invasion”.
Luiz, 65, says Trump is telling undocumented immigrants: “This is my house, my yard, and you’re not going to stay here.”
In other areas, however, he, is nervous about Trump’s approach.
The coffee shop owner supports Trump’s efforts to make other countries pay “their fair share” through tariffs. But he’s apprehensive about the short-term economic effects as well as how long it could take for America to see the benefits.
“It’s going to be painful [and] I don’t think it’s going to be as fast as he says.
“I’m a supporter, but at the end of the day, if this doesn’t work, I’ll say it’s a mistake – he did things too fast, scared the markets, scared the economy.”
He’s ‘kicking butt’ and restoring a ‘merit-based society’
Nic AntayaAmanda Sue Mathis backed Trump in 2024 because she felt he was the best candidate to address America’s most pressing problems – 100 days in, she says he’s made strong progress.
“There were a lot of people who cared about the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, but I think it’s time we look at our country and get things in order before we go fix other countries’ problems,” the 34-year-old Navy veteran says.
She wants a “merit-based society” and praises Trump’s rollback of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies which had tried to boost minority representation and tackle discrimination. Critics say those policies are themselves discriminatory – and Amanda Sue believes they went too far in recent years.
She also welcomes Trump’s executive orders restricting gender care for Americans under the age of 19 and banning transgender women from female sports.
Broadly, she thinks the president is “kicking butt” and his first 100 days have made her “happier with [her] vote”.
But Amanda Sue is prepared to have her mind changed too.
“I’m not one of those people who is always for Trump,” she says. “If he messes up, I’ll be the first one to tell you.”
‘Trump has earned back the respect’ with tariffs
Mark PynesTrump’s promise to impose tariffs and bring manufacturing jobs back to America was a key reason why Ben Maurer, a 39-year-old freight truck driver from Pennsylvania, voted for the president.
“A lot of people thought he was bluffing on more than a few things,” he says.
So Ben’s delighted Trump hit the gas immediately, imposing tariffs on countries that range from allies like Canada and Mexico to adversaries like China.
It has not been a smooth ride, however. In a tumultuous series of announcements, the administration has raised, lowered, delayed and retracted tariffs in response to ongoing trade negotiations and stock market reaction.
Currently, the US has imposed a 10% tariffs on all imports – and China has been hit with a 145% tax on goods it exports to America.
Despite economists’ concerns about higher prices, Ben believes the businesses he delivers to will benefit in the long run.
“Trump has earned back the respect [for the US],” he says of the president’s tariff policies. “We are still the force to be reckoned with.”
Overall, he feels Trump has been more productive at the start of his second term. The president had time to prepare, he says, and it shows.
‘Musk is a character I don’t understand’
Phillipe StudioJune Carey’s opinion of Donald Trump has not changed, but the first few months of Trump’s second term are not what she anticipated either.
“He’s a bit more aggressive and a little bit more erratic than I expected,” the California artist says.
But June, 70, doesn’t see the surprises as negative. She is “blown away” by the “waste” the so-called Department of Government Efficiency – led by billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk – says it has found.
Critics say his claims about savings appear to be inflated and he has faced a backlash for blunt cuts at government departments that were later reversed, including firings of key federal workers.
June says she’s uncertain about Musk himself.
“Musk is a character I don’t understand,” June says. “My feeling is that if Trump has trusted him as much as he has, than he must be a pretty good guy with the right ideas and the right goals.”
She previously told the BBC she was concerned about welfare spending and hoped Trump would push Americans to be more self-sufficient. While she is happy with the cuts so far, she hopes they leave alone social security – the monthly government payments that she and 67 million retired or disabled Americans live off.
Democrats warn those are at risk in future, but June asks: “Why would they cut [social security] when they’ve cut so many things that have saved them millions and millions of dollars?”
Trusting Trump amid ‘temporary pain’ of tariffs
Allegra BovermanJeremy Stevens has faithfully stood by Trump for years.
“[Trump is] very aggressively getting things he promised on the campaign trail done,” he says.
At his automotive repair and used car shop in Maine, Jeremy sees some customers who feel differently about Trump’s economic efforts. But the 45-year-old believes their nerves around tariffs in particular come from “a lack of understanding”.
The tariffs are part of a Trump administration vision that Jeremy believes will pay off in the long run – if critics can hold on until then.
“There definitely is a perception out there about the impact of these policies that is short-sighted,” he says.
Trump’s back-and-forth shift on tariff policies have come at a price, economists say. Markets around the world were sent spiralling. The International Monetary Fund has cut its global growth forecast because of the uncertainty, with the US hardest hit. It warned there is a 40% chance of a recession in the US.
But Jeremy is convinced time will prove Trump right.
“It’s a temporary pain,” he says. “This too shall pass.”
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