In the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump not only fired up his hardcore MAGA base — he also made an aggressive outreach to independents and swing voters who many reporters described as “Trump-curious.” Poll after poll is showing that independents are now abandoning Trump in droves, while staunch MAGA voters are still on board. But according to New York Times reporter Ruth Igielnik, even MAGA voters are showing signs of skepticism.
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“Among Republicans,” Igielnik explains in the Times, “the president enjoys an 82 percent approval rating, according to the latest New York Times/Siena poll, even as his overall approval ratings have reached new lows. But there is more doubt among his base than what is generally acknowledged. In fact, one-third of the voters who approve of the president’s job performance also say they disapprove of his handling of various issues, including the economy, Iran, relations with Israel or immigration. What could account for that discrepancy, and could this group represent a faint crack in the Republican bulwark?”
The Times, according to Igielnik, interviewed “two dozen of these loyal but skeptical Trump supporters” — many of whom “resent their depiction as knee-jerk MAGA voters.”
“These voters see themselves as making pragmatic choices from an unappetizing set of options,” Igielnik reports. “If they are unsure at times of Mr. Trump, they have all but lost faith in the Democratic brand. At least, many say, the president has tried to fulfill his promises — especially on immigration. Many of this group say they have stuck with Mr. Trump, despite doubts, because he has delivered on campaign promises.”
Donna Awana, a 77-year-old Honolulu resident and one of the interviewees, still likes Trump on immigration but believes he needs to be talking about the economy more.
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Awana told the Times, “I used to really like him, and I still like him, but I’m at the point where I’m nervous about things that are transpiring. With the war in Iran and the economy, I’m just a little hesitant about him right now…. I wish he took the economy just as seriously as he does immigration.”
David Baldonado, a 47-year-old Oxnard, California resident who voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024, told the Times he gives Trump a “C minus” on the economy and the war in Iran but would vote for him again nonetheless.
“Immigration enforcement,” Igielnik notes, “stands apart as the issue where Trump supporters are most satisfied.” And Kathryn MacKinney, a 32-year-old emergency medical technician in the Dayton, Ohio area, told the Times, “We can get steamrolled by other countries. I’m very happy that he’s made other countries listen to us and back down.”
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