Michigan's young Trump voters stand by their man

Yahoo

27-04-2025

In January, Donald Trump became the oldest man ever inaugurated president and he owed his comeback win in part, to young voters.
Kamala Harris still won a majority of voters ages 18-29, but Trump narrowed his loss among young women from 2020 and won a majority of young men, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.
One hundred days into Trump's second term, young men who voted for him seem happy with his performance, despite some hiccups.
"I'd give him an A-minus," said Evan Hubbs, 20, of Birmingham, who cast his first presidential vote in November for Trump. "I think it's going pretty good overall."
Hubbs is studying political science at Iowa State University. He said the reduction in border crossings from Mexico and the passage of the Laken Riley Act, which requires the Department of Homeland Security to detain migrants arrested for crimes, count as wins for Trump.
He acknowledged that the economy has been volatile in the wake of Trump's tariffs, but he's convinced things will settle down soon.
"The stock market has been a little bit of a roller coaster, but I think there is a solid chance that we finish out the rest of this quarter on a high note and I think that it's bigger than just the stock market," he said.
Hubbs said Trump has not been able to unify the country but gives him credit for trying. He said he would like to see Trump cooperate more with America's allies abroad.
"There's certain things that we need to cooperate on, and we need to work with our partners," he said.
Despite his age, Krish Mathrani, 18, of Troy, has been politically active in conservative politics for years. He parlayed that activism into getting elected youth chair of the Michigan Republican Party at the state party convention in February.
He also cast his first presidential vote for Trump in November and, like Hubbs, he gives Trump an A-minus.
"I' think he is following through with his promises," Mathrani said. "He said he would do the reciprocal tariffs thing, he did just that. He said he would do his economic policy, his executive orders are exactly what he promised, with boys in women's locker rooms, with the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), ending DEI, with everything. It has been exactly what he promised."
Mathrani also credits Trump for stricter enforcement at the Southern border. Mathrani's parents and grandparents all immigrated to the U.S. legally from India in the early 2000s.
"I know how long they had to wait to come here. I know the process, and I know how much they appreciate it," Mathrani said. "When my family saw the amount of people who were coming here the wrong way, the illegal way, we felt mistreated. We felt it was unfair, which is why that is a big issue close to my heart."
Mathrani acknowledged that the stock market has been rocky, but he's convinced it will turn for the better
"The majority of Americans, they understand that this is a short term thing, and President Trump knows how to bring the economy back," Mathrani said. "He did that in 2016 when we're doing amazing before COVID happened."
Not all young voters are happy with Trump.
Loren Maxwell, 19, of West Bloomfield, is studying early childhood education at Oakland Community College. She said she voted for Trump in November, but acknowledges she had not researched the candidates or the parties well at the time.
"I felt it was a little more obvious to see what Trump had in mind at the time, and the promises he was making seemed really great," she said. "But I feel like I should have done more research because, it's really hard to see where it's going. The future is really unsure."
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Maxwell said that Trump talked a lot about the economy and she thought there would be more support for people who lost their jobs during COVID-19 or were struggling to find work. As someone who hopes to teach one day, Maxwell said she doesn't like Trump's efforts to close down the Department of Education.
She also has been disappointed with the tariffs because she shops online frequently for things like clothes and CDs.
"I purchase a lot of things online from different countries," she said. "And this tariff is, well, I see a lot of websites talking about having to not ship here because it's too much. Like no one's gonna make a profit off of it, because the fees are gonna be so high."
Maxwell wouldn't say that she regretted her vote, but said that she wishes she'd done more research before voting. She still hopes things change for the better.
"I'm keeping an open mind, but I am leaning toward a little bit of disappointment," she said. "But only the future can tell where it's all gonna end up."
Tyler Soncrainte, 25, of Waterford, has made up his mind. He's happy he voted for Trump.
"I've really enjoyed seeing him develop DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) and show how much our federal government is continuously wasting our tax dollars every year," Soncrainte said. "I think that he has a pretty strategic approach to most of what he does and that makes sense."
Like Mathrani, Soncrainte has been an active Republican for years and even ran unsuccessfully for a township office in Waterford. He said that he's happy to see stricter enforcement along the Southern border and he's willing to be patient through the stock market swings.
He would like to see more progress on foreign affairs.
"I was hoping that we would have more resolution with the conflict in the Middle East, as well as with Russia and Ukraine," Soncrainte said. "Unfortunately, we haven't solved those yet. I think he's making progress toward it, but I would like to see more peace talks and whatnot with the rest of the world."
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Soncrainte said Trump hasn't been able to make much progress unifying the country, but he blames much of that on a certain percentage of the population that will never accept Trump.
Overall, Soncrainte said he is happy with his vote and with what he has seen so far from Trump.
"I love having a president where his initiatives feel as if he is putting America first ... you know, reviving the American dream," he said. "Sometimes you'll hear stuff that isn't so pretty about him, but he's a complete changeup of what we had the last four years, and that's exactly what I voted for."
Contact John Wisely: [e-mail]. On X: @jwisely
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Young Trump voters in Michigan stand by their man 100 days in