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One year in, Trump voters admit the change they hoped for has fallen short
On a cold day in Pennsylvania, Michelle Sims stands in a food bank aisle, weighing up groceries and her feelings about the man she voted into office. One year into Donald Trump’s presidency, her support has not vanished, but it has softened.
“I was hoping for more,” she admits quietly. For Sims, who cannot work because of medical issues, the rising cost of living and cuts to welfare programmes were meant to be front and centre of Trump’s agenda. Fuel prices have dipped, she says, but the bigger picture feels unfinished.
Her hesitation reflects a broader mood emerging across parts of the United States, particularly in battleground communities that helped tip the scales in the 2024 election.
A swing county starts to wobble
Sims lives in Bucks County, outside Philadelphia, a place political strategists obsess over. It is known for voters who move between parties rather than staying loyal to one side. Trump narrowly won the county in 2024, marking the first Republican presidential victory there since the late 1980s.
That breakthrough now looks fragile. In the 2025 local elections, Democratic candidates swept the area, a result many see as a warning sign for the White House.
“People just want government to work,” says Danny Ceisler, the newly elected Democratic sheriff of Bucks County. He points to fatigue with political turmoil and says voters are weary of what they see as constant chaos.
Ceisler has already made waves locally by pushing back against cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, a key and controversial pillar of Trump’s presidency.
High hopes meet hard reality
Political analysts say Trump’s support was never especially deep in places like Bucks County. According to Christopher Borick from the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, Trump’s narrow 2024 win relied on voters frustrated with the country’s direction, especially the cost of everyday life.
Those same voters are now drifting away. Their hopes for greater affordability have not been fully realised, and concerns about Trump’s leadership style appear to have grown rather than faded.
National polling backs this up. A recent Gallup survey put Trump’s approval rating at 36 percent, down sharply from the 47 percent recorded when he took office.
Even loyal voters sound tired
In Doylestown, a historic town lined with cafés and small shops, Joe Kramley is blunt about his frustrations. The 83-year-old retired Navy technician voted for Trump mainly because of immigration concerns but says his patience is wearing thin.
“I wish he’d just do what he’s going to do,” Kramley says. Some policies have satisfied him; others clearly have not. Inflation remains a sore point, and Trump’s repeated comments about wanting to take over Greenland leave him shaking his head. “It’s ridiculous,” he says.
Would he vote for Trump again? Maybe, he says, depending on who else is on the ballot. What is clear is that his enthusiasm has cooled.
Mixed feelings at the diner counter
Not everyone is disappointed. At a diner on the edge of town, insurance salesman Gary Armstrong says he is still happy with his choice. He describes himself as conservative and says he likes the direction of the country, even if he does not always like Trump himself.
For Armstrong, the alternative matters just as much. His support, he says, is driven less by affection for the president and more by opposition to what he sees on the far left.
A restless road to the midterms
With the 2026 midterm elections looming, Trump has returned to campaign-style rallies in an effort to reenergise his base. Control of Congress is at stake, and the mood in swing areas like Bucks County could prove decisive.
What stands out one year in is not outright rejection, but uncertainty. For voters like Michelle Sims, the question is no longer about loyalty but about results. The promise of change was powerful. The wait for it is starting to feel long.
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Source: IOL
Featured Image: NBC News
