Love it or hate it, President Donald Trump has given the public a lot to think about during his first 100 days in office. From crackdowns on immigration and DEI policies to DOGE cuts and tariffs, the developments have come almost hourly. So it’s no surprise that Colorado voters from across the political spectrum have strong opinions about the job he’s doing, how it’s going, and where the country is headed.
CPR News talked with a range of voters from different parts of the state to get their take on the Trump administration 2.0.
‘I'm glad that he's moving quickly to do things’
Unaffiliated voter Susan Virginia and her husband Frank, a Republican, live in Morrison. They’re retired and both voted for Trump. She said she liked the president before, but is even happier this time around.
“I'm glad that he's moving quickly to do things, because his first administration, he didn't know who he could trust and who he couldn't trust.”
She’s especially pleased with DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency helmed by conservative billionaire Elon Musk, and its slashing approach to the federal government.
“I mean, if you were going to be bankrupt, you would do everything you could to cut the budget. And right now our country's about to be bankrupt, and we got to cut the budget. We got to stop paying for things that shouldn't be paid for.”
She’s more mixed on his approach to tariffs and thinks Trump should hurry up his tax cuts to make people less skittish about tariffs. Her husband, a retired small business owner, is concerned about his investments. But he’s willing to be patient.
“The market doesn't like this disruption right now, but at this point in the process, I'm still comfortable in supporting the president and his policies, hoping that over the next four, five months things will even out.”
‘It's just sad more than anything’
Twenty-eight-year-old nurse Sarah Castiglione lives in Littleton. She said Trump signaled beforehand what he would do, but it’s sad that so many different types of people are being impacted by his policies.
Her biggest concern is the economy.
“How it's affecting people who are so hardworking is probably the most upsetting to me. Because we, I'll consider myself part of that group, are just trying to live and give a good life to our kids and we seem to be being hit the hardest.”
She said her husband pays more attention to what’s happening in the political world than she does; she’s been tuning out a bit to protect her own mental health.
“Because it's very upsetting the way that things have gone down. But I follow a social media account that just posts the facts of what's going on and the decisions that have been made. So I do see that every day.”
‘He has a lot of the same values me and my husband do’
Tasha Schillang’s family recently moved to Colorado from Iowa for her husband’s job as a geo-technical engineer in Commerce City. She said they don’t agree with Trump on everything but thinks he’ll stand up for things like keeping the Pledge of Allegiance in schools.
“Because schools right now are kind of scary for my kids … ‘you can be a boy, you can be a girl,’ and they're trying to teach that. And I think that should be the parents' values, not the school's decisions.
When it comes to financial policies, Schillang wants to see Trump fulfill his campaign promise to eliminate federal income tax on overtime hours.
“We kind of rely on my husband's overtime because we’re right in that middle bracket. So I think that for us would just be awesome and amazing because we're kind of stuck in that middle.”
‘He hasn't shown any difference than what we just got out of’
Jeanette Garcia of Commerce City is raising two autistic grandchildren, she says were born addicted to fentanyl. To survive, she relies on her social security income, about $1,000 a month, and says it’s really difficult. She didn’t vote in the presidential race because she didn’t like either candidate.
“No left, no right,” she says of her politics. “What I do stand for is our constitution of our rights as being humans.”
Now she’s worried about possible cuts to the programs she relies on.
“Don't take away our SSI, that some people do need it … I do appreciate our economy and our government and our president. But when you're making us seem that you don't respect us, how are we supposed to give you that respect back?”
‘I question his means, but he still may be able to execute on the things that he promised’
Pueblo resident Sam Umoh is still undecided on Trump.
“I think inflation is up. I think things are a little scary for certain people, (like) immigrants. I think if you've been listening to the news, you may be a little concerned for democracy. But I think also that Trump has good intentions.”
Umoh, an unaffiliated voter and entrepreneur, believes the jury is out on how effective Trump will end up being, and if he makes good on the things he promised, like deporting large numbers of undocumented immigrants and building up the economy.
“Right now, it's not a stronger economy. (But) right now, he is getting rid of people. So he's like one for two on those.”
It is still early in the administration, but Umoh sees Trump is a very, very powerful man with a full team.
“And I do think that he has a strong presence and I do think that he's going to do his best to follow through on his promises.”
‘I'm sad that Congress isn't standing up to this more’
Melissa McKinney is 41, lives in Littleton and is a survivor of the Columbine High School shooting. The liberal-leaning voter said she’s terrified of everything Trump is doing, from tariffs to firing federal workers.
“I'm scared. I really am scared and mad and I'll do everything I can to fight. But I mean, within reason, I'll write letters and make phone calls and emails, but why are we losing things that are helping our country?”
McKinney is also unhappy with the nationalistic direction she sees the U.S. taking and worries about what will happen if tariffs upend her business.
“I own two picture framing shops, custom picture framing. And my products come from Italy and Europe and Asia. I don’t know how I'm going to keep up if tariffs go on. It's already an expensive thing to do. It's just going to make my life harder… I care about my employees. I want them to stay employed.”
‘Been a disaster’
Alfred McKinney, 75, is a registered Democrat from Littleton. He’s a retired electrical engineer who worked on space equipment. He said he’s especially worried about women and LGBTQ people losing their rights, and the backlash against DEI.
“Those programs have worked for years and they are not taking advantage of old white men like me, and we need to continue those.”
He’s especially concerned for a trans family member. And he doesn’t see the other branches of government stepping up to rein in the president.
“Congress has ignored him and the courts are trying to stop (him), but they have no enforcement capability. So, without Congress to latch onto a court's decision and say, ‘no, this is enough. We have to stop.’ And I'm not sure where the voting populace is.”
‘He's a good businessman, and that's what we need’
David Hendearson is a U.S. Army veteran who voted for Trump last November. He said he’s been homeless for 14 years and currently lives out of his tent in Commerce City, but is buoyed by his faith in God.
“I just live day-to-day. Yesterday's gone. Tomorrow's not here. Today's the day.”
Hendearson said he likes what Trump’s doing so far and but wants the administration to do more for veterans.
“There's a lot of vets. I'm not the only one. I've met plenty of 'em out here, some living in their cars and I don't know where all this money's going. If they say they give it to us, I'd like to see some of it.”
‘I am really, really impressed’
Republican Martin Ramirez retired from the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot in Pueblo. He’s been really impressed with Trump's policies so far on everything from immigration to tariffs. He said he hopes Trump will change America’s standing in the world so the country is no longer treated like a “pushover.”
“Back when I was growing up in the fifties and sixties (and) seventies, people in the world they respected America. They were afraid of America. We were strong, economical, strong military. And now we are one of the biggest laughing stocks, but now things are changing.”
‘Haven't seen very great significant change in improving America’
Democrat Adriana Morales is worried about tariffs and the impact on her day-to-day costs. The 26-year-old college student from Commerce City is studying forensic science.
“I wish tariffs weren't that high and maybe that would make groceries more accessible and not this expensive.”
On immigration, she says she feels betrayed that so many fellow Hispanic voters support Trump. Her family immigrated from Mexico almost three decades ago.
“But I also understand their point where there's too many people coming in. I just hope there's a better immigration reform for those who have been here longer and not for those who are just coming in.”
‘He's doing okay.’
Donna Sierra, an unaffiliated voter from Pueblo, sat out the last presidential race because she didn’t like Trump or former Vice President Kamala Harris. But so far, she thinks the president is doing fine.
“I've never been pro-Trump for anything, but I think closing the borders, one thing, working on the tariffs, the Panama Canal thing. I think that there's a step forward.”
She said she’s happy that Trump is taking care of fraud, but will have issues with him if he touches spending for things like Medicaid or Medicare.
“It would hurt me. It would hurt a lot of people. We have a lot of people in Pueblo who are on assistance and they need it.”
And she said she doesn’t know what to believe about Trump, especially on things like immigration and the border.
“The reports we hear are like, there's kids in kennels at the border, parents being separated from their kids. All that stuff I'm against, but I'm not there. So I don't know. And so I don't know what's really going on in the world because I don't feel like we get a fair view of what's going on.”
| This story is part of a collection tracking the impacts of President Donald Trump’s second administration on the lives of everyday Coloradans. Since taking office, Trump has overhauled nearly every aspect of the federal government; journalists from CPR News, KRCC and Denverite are staying on top of what that means for you. Read more here. |
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