'Bull in the china shop': Cautious Trump supporters hold out to see 'what he actually does'

22 January

If more parts of the United States had gone the way of New England in the 2024 presidential election, Democratic nominee Kamala Harris would now be president. Harris carried the New England states, from Massachusetts to Connecticut to Maine. But she was defeated when now-President Donald Trump won Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and other key swing states.

Trump, nonetheless, performed well in pockets of New England, including, according to CNN's John King, two precincts in Dorchester — a neighborhood in predominantly Democratic Boston.

In a report aired on January 22, King takes a look at New Englanders and others who voted for Trump in 2024 — mostly for economic reasons. And the interviewees stressed that they expect the president to make good on his economic promises.

New Hampshire resident Andrew Konchek noted that Trump "doesn't think before he talks sometimes." And when King, who said it was "prove-it time" for Trump, asked Konckek, "What's the test?," he responded that he wants to see "what he actually does" and if he's going to "do everything that he says."

King discussed his interviews with CNN's Dana Bash, stressing that the Trump voters he spoke to in New England and elsewhere expect results. And he pointed to a voter in the Philadelphia suburbs — Media, Pennsylvania resident Linda Rooney — as the type of swing voter who could either help or hurt Republicans in future elections.

Rooney voted for Trump in 2016 and 2024 but Joe Biden in 2020. And she isn't happy about Trump's pardon of the January 6 rioters.

Rooney said of Trump, "I was optimistically hopeful after the election, but I feel like he's a bull in the china shop, or that he's using a sledgehammer where finer instruments are called for. Not all the January 6 people should be pardoned. It was an attack on our democracy and an attack on our elected leadership."

King told Bash, "That is a suburban Republican who will be key in the 2026 (midterms) ... She was a Nikki Haley voter. They will they will be key. Voters like Linda Rooney will be absolutely key in the next midterm election. Donald Trump's not on the ballot then, but a lot of Republicans are."

King noted that hardcore MAGA voters will support Trump "even when they cringe," but swing voters are more unpredictable.

Watch the full video below or at this link.

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