When Joyce Kenney looks at President Donald Trump today, she says she feels even better about her vote than she did back in 2024. The 74-year-old retiree from Prescott Valley, Arizona, doesn’t hesitate when asked how she feels now. She says she’d happily vote for him again.
As Trump moves into the second year of his presidency, Kenney hopes he stays focused on what drew many voters to him in the first place: cutting government waste, cracking down on fraud, lowering costs for seniors, and continuing to deport criminal illegal immigrants. At the same time, she believes there should be more balance when it comes to people who are otherwise law-abiding and contributing to the country.
In her view, immigration policy shouldn’t be treated as a simple black-and-white issue. She supports enforcing the law, but she also believes there’s room for compassion and common sense, especially for people who have built lives in the U.S. and stayed out of trouble. Conservatives often talk about fairness and responsibility, and she sees no contradiction in applying those values humanely.
Kenney is far from alone. Reuters spoke with 20 Trump voters across the country about what they want to see next, as the president faces protests over immigration, continued cost-of-living concerns, and rising tensions abroad. Nearly all of them said they were satisfied with Trump’s first year back in office, even while acknowledging areas where they want to see improvement.
Many of these voters strongly back policies that tend to draw criticism from Democrats and the media, including tougher immigration enforcement, tariffs to protect American industry, reducing the size of the federal workforce, and a more assertive stance toward foreign leaders, including Venezuela’s president. These voters believe those moves reflect a long-overdue shift toward putting American interests first.
Reuters has followed these voters monthly for the past year. While six had virtually no complaints at all and three were deeply unhappy, most fell somewhere in the middle. Notably, none said they regretted voting for Trump.
Across the board, immigration reform and domestic priorities topped their wish list. Healthcare costs, fraud in public programs, and the growing national debt mattered far more to them than foreign policy theatrics. That’s consistent with a conservative mindset that prioritizes fiscal responsibility and solutions at home before nation-building abroad.
Some voters did express discomfort with Trump’s rhetoric, particularly comments about annexing foreign countries or his tendency to escalate arguments on social media. Fourteen said they wish he would tone that down and stay focused on governing.
Robert Billups, a 34-year-old unemployed accountant from Washington state, said he wants the president concentrating more on America’s internal problems. He voted for Trump hoping for cheaper healthcare and clearer government spending. While he hasn’t seen the progress he hoped for yet, he still believes Trump was the best option in 2024, especially compared to what Democrats were offering.
The White House, for its part, says the administration remains focused on cooling inflation, growing the economy, securing the border, and deporting criminal illegal immigrants — goals that continue to resonate with much of the Republican base.
Not everyone is thrilled with every aspect of Trump’s approach. Steve Egan, a 65-year-old promotional products distributor in Tampa, gave the president a failing grade for tariffs, public attacks on judges, and comments about countries like Greenland. His main concern is avoiding unnecessary constitutional fights.
Egan said that while he generally can’t support Democrats, he’s open to voting for anyone who shows more restraint and common sense. That kind of comment reflects frustration with style, not a wholesale rejection of conservative policy.
One issue kept coming up again and again: creating a clearer legal pathway for immigrants who are already working, paying taxes, and contributing to the economy. Many voters see this not as “amnesty,” but as pragmatic reform that strengthens the rule of law while recognizing reality.
Trump supported some limited reforms like this during his first term, but hasn’t prioritized them since returning to office. Last year, most of these same voters told Reuters they wanted action on this front, and many still do.
Juan Rivera, a 26-year-old content creator near San Diego who does Latino outreach for California’s Republican Party, said he’s disappointed nothing has moved forward. He argues that immigration reform isn’t just morally right, but politically smart.
According to Rivera, Latino and Asian-American voters played a key role in Trump’s victory, and many supported him precisely because they believed he would fix a broken system not just enforce it harshly, but make it work.
Similar sentiments came from Brandon Neumeister, a Pennsylvania corrections worker and former National Guardsman. He believes that immigrants who’ve been productive and law-abiding for years should have a streamlined path to legal status instead of living in permanent uncertainty.
Lesa Sandberg of Utah echoed that view. She supports border security but wants equal emphasis on making legal immigration more efficient. In her mind, focusing on criminals while helping responsible people become legal is common-sense conservatism.
Government statistics show that a significant share of ICE detainees do not have pending criminal charges, a fact that has fueled calls for reform even among Trump supporters.
On the economic front, Sandberg said Trump’s deregulation and tax policies left her optimistic. She’s seen lower gas prices and some relief at the grocery store, even though official inflation data paints a mixed picture.
Still, she has questions. She wants to know how the administration plans to pay for a major military spending increase and where the savings from federal workforce cuts actually went. For her, balancing the budget and stopping the growth of the national debt should be a top priority a core conservative principle.
Terry Alberta, a 65-year-old pilot from Michigan, agreed. While he says the economy feels strong in his own life, he’s disappointed that promised efforts to rein in spending haven’t translated into a lower deficit.
He also wishes the president would stop engaging so aggressively with critics. In his view, ignoring the noise would serve Trump — and the country — better.
Finally, David Ferguson, a mechanical engineer in Georgia, said he wants Trump to keep pushing to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. through tariffs and other pressure. He acknowledges the president can come across as arrogant at times, but believes that edge is part of what allows Trump to challenge a system that’s been failing American workers for decades.
Taken together, these voices reflect something the media often misses: Trump voters aren’t blind loyalists. They support strong borders, fiscal discipline, and America-first economics, but many also want practicality, restraint, and solutions that actually work. For Republicans heading into the midterms, listening to that balance may matter just as much as winning the next political fight.
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