Trump Working Class Voters Sound Off: They’re Angry. Here’s Why.
We’re back with new findings from our ongoing longitudinal research with working class Biden-Trump voters we talked to last year to see what’s changed and how they view voting for Democrats this fall.
Across several days in April, we reconnected with nearly 20 working class voters in battleground states who have been part of our research since the spring of 2025. All of them voted for Donald Trump in 2024. We asked them about the economy, the war in Iran, immigration, and how they’re thinking about their vote this November.
What they told us should get Democrats’ attention.
THE HEADLINE: TRUMP’S SUPPORT HAS DECLINED AMONG HIS OWN WORKING CLASS VOTERS
When we first started talking with these voters in March 2025, within the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, there was real optimism. They had voted for Trump, many enthusiastically, and were hopeful he would focus on their priorities — lowering costs, reining in government spending, and keeping the country out of new wars. As the year progressed, that optimism turned to concern.
A year later, that optimism is gone.
We track Trump’s approval using a simple grade-based system that we convert to a GPA. In June 2025, his GPA with this group was a solid 2.96, with many saying they liked his policies but took issue with his style. Now in April 2026, it has plummeted to 1.46 — from among the same people, tracked over time. His economic GPA has fallen from 2.46 to 1.67, with half of participants now giving him a failing grade on the economy.
A plurality now give Trump a “D” overall. Several said this term is worse than his first. Many felt that he has broken his promises and they’re not getting what they voted for.
“He is basically doing everything he said he wouldn’t do and failed to upkeep his promises.” — 38-year-old white man from North Carolina, who gave Trump a B- in March 2025
“I don’t think he did a bad job his first term but I would actively say he is doing a bad job now and I am actually scared.” — 26-year-old white woman from Minnesota
“It appears that we are in a worse situation than before. It doesn’t seem as though we are getting anything that we voted for.” — 47-year-old Black woman from Georgia, who said in March 2025 that she was “excited and curious” to see where Trump’s changes would take America
THE ECONOMY: THINGS HAVE ONLY GOTTEN WORSE
Costs were the top concern for these voters a year ago, and it remains their top concern today — but the mood has darkened considerably.
These voters are deeply unhappy with the economy and believe it has only gotten worse. As we saw last year, they are frustrated with the high cost of groceries, housing, and utilities, and now, unlike last year, they complained about gas prices spiking. They do not see positives in the economy today and are not particularly hopeful that it will get better soon. In our earliest discussions with these voters in March of 2025, they articulated a sense of hopefulness that Trump would take meaningful action to get costs under control, and now more than a year later they feel as though things are worse than they’ve ever been.
In March 2025, these voters gave Trump the benefit of the doubt on the economy and hoped that the impact of tariffs would ultimately bear out. They were patient. They expected him to get prices under control. Today, they feel like things are worse than they’ve ever been.
They’re cutting back on food, on streaming services, on trips to see family. One participant said rising gas prices are costing him an extra $100 a month. Two separately brought up shopping for Easter candy as a moment of sticker shock that crystallized how bad things have gotten.
“[The economy] is a lot worse. Things were still expensive a year ago but it just keeps getting worse and worse.” — 26-year-old white woman from Minnesota
“I’ve cut back on unnecessary spending. No more going to the movies and no more going out to eat.” — 50-year-old Hispanic woman from Texas, who said in March 2025 that she didn’t think Americans had “anything to worry about”
Nearly all of them (13 of 16) rate the economy as “not so good” or “poor.” Most (9 of 16) say nothing is giving them hope right now. Many believe the country could be headed toward a recession.
These voters also widely blame corporate price gouging — not just policy — for inflation. They believe that when prices go up, companies keep them up, even when their own costs come down. This sense that the “people at the top” are rigging the system in their favor runs through virtually every conversation.
THE WAR IN IRAN IS TRUMP’S BIGGEST VULNERABILITY — BY FAR
Of every issue we tested, the war in Iran generated the most intense and consistent backlash.
For many participants, it was their tipping point frustration with Trump — and the most unexpected thing he has done in office. They see it as hypocritical (he campaigned on staying out of foreign wars), pointless, and an economic drag that is making their lives materially worse. Gas prices are up, and many blame the war directly. Others view it as a distraction from their top priority: the economy.
Nearly everyone — 12 out of 15 — disapproves of Trump’s handling of the war specifically. And 12 out of 15 want Congress to use its power to stop him on Iran — more than on any other issue we tested, by a wide margin.
When we showed participants clips of Trump bragging about being a “peaceful president” and saying he would know in his bones when to end the war, the reaction was visceral. They called him a liar. Several questioned his mental fitness.
“A big reason I voted for him was for his foreign policy. I feel duped and completely dumb for falling for it.” — 34-year-old white man from Arizona
When asked whether going to war with Iran was worth it to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, 12 out of 15 said no — it wasn’t worth it because it is making Americans’ lives worse. The nuclear threat argument simply is not convincing to this group.
On funding: the Trump administration has asked Congress for $200 billion to continue the war. 13 out of 15 participants oppose that funding — and 10 of those 13 strongly oppose it.
IMMIGRATION: STILL IMPORTANT, BUT THE MOOD HAS SHIFTED
A year ago, immigration was one of the top things this group liked about Trump. 15 out of 28 participants in our 2025 research voluntarily brought up his immigration actions as something they approved of. This year? Only 3 out of 16 raised immigration as something they liked — while 5 raised it as an area of disappointment. Still, border security remains Trump’s best issue among this group of voters (7 approve, 8 disapprove) and it matters to them. But since the killings in Minnesota and the ICE protests, a majority (9/15) have soured on ICE specifically. They describe ICE’s tactics as overly aggressive, and they are upset about killings of U.S. citizens, officers trespassing on private property, and wrongful arrests.
The key nuance here: they still want the border secured and illegal immigration stopped. But they want it done the right way. They are very open to the idea of reforming ICE and by and large supported the reforms we tested, especially adding more training for ICE agents.
This is a politically interesting moment: when told that Democrats were demanding ICE reforms as a condition of funding the Department of Homeland Security, participants — initially split on who to blame for the shutdown — shifted toward blaming Republicans for refusing to reform the agency. 11 out of 15 said they’d blame Republicans for refusing to reform ICE, versus just 4 who’d blame Democrats for insisting on reforms.
While it appears the shutdown is over, this is an issue that will linger and is worth watching.
LACK OF AWARENESS ON HEALTHCARE A CONCERN
If there is an area of concern for Democrats this fall, it is the simple lack of awareness of the healthcare disruption that is coming with the Medicaid cuts from the Big Beautiful Bill.
These voters disagree with Trump’s healthcare cuts, but they are not top of mind.
Much like we heard last year, awareness of the Big Beautiful Bill is low, and most participants are unaware of the impending healthcare cuts.
A majority of the participants wanted to see Congress rein Trump in on his changes to Medicaid, but without prompting, this did not arise as an area where they were disappointed or frustrated with Trump.
WHERE DEMOCRATS HAVE AN OPENING
Perhaps the most important finding from this round of research: these voters are no longer locked in.
In June 2025, 9 out of 26 participants said they planned to vote Republican for Congress, and just 1 planned to vote Democratic. Now, with the same group: 4 say Republican, 2 say Democrat, and 9 are undecided.
That’s a notable shift among these prior Trump voters. And several of those undecided voters explicitly said they are strongly considering voting for Democrats because they are unhappy with the status quo.
“I usually vote all Republican but not this time. There needs to be change in some of my state’s seats. I can’t believe I just said that but it’s true.” — 50-year-old Hispanic woman from Texas
“I’m gonna take a look at this more in depth but [I have] a strong lean towards Democrats.” — 44-year-old white man from Maine
What do these voters respond to? Populist economic policies, especially ones that crack down on corporate power and hold the wealthy accountable.
On government corruption, two proposals tied at the top: making it a crime for members of Congress to vote on laws that benefit their own bottom line, and banning members of Congress from owning and trading stocks.
This last one sparked real passion. These voters are deeply suspicious of insider trading and believe Congress should be serving constituents, not enriching themselves. Multiple participants said that if Democrats were championing these kinds of reforms, it would make them more likely to vote Democratic.
WHAT THIS MEANS
These findings don’t tell us Democrats have this in the bag. Democrats remain at a deficit with this Trump-centric group— and the most common criticism remains that the party is too focused on social and “woke” issues and not focused enough on economic concerns. But when voters know what Democrats stand for lowering costs, protecting and lowering the cost of health care, and corporate accountability, it moves them.
The challenge is that they often don’t know. That makes the opportunity real. These are Trump voters who are now in play. They are hurting economically. They are furious about a war they didn’t ask for. They are open to a change — and when presented with a Democratic economic agenda focused on rewarding work, holding corporations accountable, and cracking down on corruption, they respond.
The door is open. The question is whether Democrats walk through it.
This research is based on a multi-day QualBoard conducted in April 2026, among 16 working class swing voters in battleground states who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 and participated in the 2025 longitudinal QualBoard. The research was conducted by Impact Research for American Bridge 21st Century.
NEXT UP: We hear from swing working class voters in focus groups in North Carolina, a key House and Senate battleground.
Common Examples of Social Issues
"Inequality & Discrimination: Issues involving race, gender, and socioeconomic status (e.g., gender wage gap, racism, LGBTQ+ rights).
Poverty & Homelessness: Lack of basic needs, food insecurity, and affordable housing.
Healthcare Access: Disparities in health, high costs, mental health struggles, and epidemics.
Environmental Concerns: Climate change, pollution, and water scarcity.
Civil Rights & Safety: Crime, police brutality, and immigration challenges.
Education & Technology: Educational inequality and the digital divide." [Google-generated search of term]
All of the issues you mention from your survey that the respondents had concerns with are social issues. It's glaring how the MAGA framing has been adopted. I commend them on their messaging.
I believe that victory will be had by those that can bridge the democracy gap with the affordability gap. Those that are living more comfortably can understand the concepts of fairness, prosperity, equal application of the law and trustworthiness. The failure to follow the rules and to act justly (Iran engagement) have led to the economic downturn and a decline in both the middle and working classes' living standards. If you're going to use a page from the Republican playbook, "loss" figures prominently, also "failure to deliver". This should be accompanied with what Dems intend to do about it. No dissertations, but think in terms of 'build homes' 'build schools', 'build care (industry)', 'build jobs (of today and tomorrow)'. And, talk about how you would do this --not with facts and figures but building from existing federal programs, in the broadest terms; a practical approach for assured success. Give the programming achievable time frames and ask voters to measure the success by those markers.
Everyone has to be singing from the same hymnal -- or some form of it -- to reflect that there is a plan. This is what the Reps have been successful at.
No mention of Israel? You didn’t ask or they didn’t say?
They know Trump double crossed them on every promise, but they’re not curious why?
The real opportunity for the Democrats is to renounce Israel First and actually mean it.