‘We were promised tax cuts, no inflation and a booming economy. Instead, we were given an inflated stock market that is a corpse pumped full of fake liquidity, few jobs, and 50-year mortgages.
‘Trump promised us law and order, then went to pardon a bunch of rich scammers and paedophiles. It’s all just so exhausting at this point,’ Adam*, a 25-year-old Trump voter, told Metro.
It’s less than a year into Donald Trump’s second presidency, but frustrations among even his most loyal voters and politicians are increasing daily.
The catalyst seems to be the Jeffrey Epstein files – an issue which Trump campaigned on, promising to release them in full, before flipping and calling the matter ‘pretty boring stuff’ in July.
But after an unprecedented petition, which led to a bill being passed in both the House and Congress, Trump signed the bill into law.
The Epstein issue has prompted a newer, wider outpouring of frustration with the President’s policies.
A lack of transparency
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Days after entering the Oval Office for a second time, Trump signed an executive order to declassify records around political assassinations.
‘I do know that we’ve done the RFK, the Kennedy, Martin Luther King is out there very shortly, so we’ll find out,’ Trump said at the time. We’ve really announced we’re doing them in full transparency.’
But broken promises about transparency have become a point of contention for even his most loyal voters.
Adam* told Metro that the lack of transparency from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice has been disappointing.
‘We were promised transparency, all while the FBI and DOJ have lied continuously about the Trump assassination attempt, and the Epstein and Kirk investigations,’ he explained.
‘Trump says he’s a president of peace, then turned around and simultaneously funded the destruction of Gaza and is still funding Ukraine.’
Former allies labelled as ‘traitors’
It’s not just formerly loyal Trump voters turning against the US President – Republican lawmakers, many of whom are staunch MAGA supporters and Trump’s fiercest defenders, have also soured.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace and Ted Cruz are three Republicans who have taken a stance against the leader.
Mace and Greene joined every Democrat to sign a petition which pushed the Epstein files bill through to get approved.
For Mace, the pivot on the matter came shortly after she defended Trump on X, claiming he ‘banned Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago’, ‘cooperated with the feds’ and was ‘committed to protecting women and kids’.
This week, after voting for the Epstein files to be released in full, despite facing pressure from the Trump administration not to sign the petition, Mace changed her tune: ‘I stand with all survivors.’
Greene has been more candid about her frustration with the Trump administration. After expressing support for Epstein’s survivors and pushing for the full release of the files, she went on X and said she had been facing death threats for it.
‘Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats and multiple convictions of men who were radicalised by the same type of rhetoric being directed at me right now,’ she wrote.
‘This time by the President of the United States. As a woman, I take threats from men seriously. I now have a small understanding of the fear and pressure the women, who are victims of Jeffrey Epstein and his cabal, must feel.’
When confronted about Greene’s statement on X, Trump told reporters: ‘Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene. I don’t think her life is in danger. I don’t think. Frankly, I don’t think anybody cares about her.’
Greene stood firm, telling reporters later: ‘Let me tell you what a traitor is. A traitor is an American who serves foreign countries and themselves.
‘A patriot is an American who serves the United States of America, and Americans like the women standing behind me,’ she said, referencing the survivors of Epstein’s abuse, who were with her at the time.
Slipping approval ratings on a variety of issues
Trump’s approval rating fell to 38% as of Tuesday, attributed to his handling of the Epstein files debacle, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey.
In September, the number of Trump voters who believed the USA was not on the right track jumped from 17% to 22%.
The Epstein drama, Charlie Kirk’s murder, tariffs, and a press conference claiming paracetamol was linked to autism in children appear to have sown seeds of doubt in Trump’s followers in recent months.
Trump voter Adam added: ‘A lot of the frustration lately also lies with the H1-B visa program, while 1st year grads are facing high unemployment rates.’
The H1-B visa is a work visa for foreigners in America, which has been another source of conflict in Washington.
Trump has promised to cut back the number of workers allowed in on the visa and prioritise American workers, but recent comments on Fox News upset his party once again.
When it was suggested that the H-1B visas could make it difficult for Americans to get higher wages by Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump resisted.
‘I agree, but you also do have to bring in talent when a country – ‘ Trump began.
Ingraham said: ‘Well, we have plenty of talented people here.’
Trump replied: ‘No, you don’t. No, you don’t have certain talents, and people have to learn.’
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