President-elect Donald Trump surprised observers by not only winning the electoral college in this year’s presidential election, but also the popular vote — becoming only the second Republican candidate to do so this century.
White men, particularly within the working class, made up a massive portion of the Republican vote on Nov. 5, and white women increasingly contributed to help drive Trump’s win. Trump increased his base of support among Latino men, gaining 7% more Latino votes than 2020, when he won 35% of their vote.
Trump also prioritized and won the support of young men ages 18-49, gaining over 50% of their votes. Trump’s interview with podcaster Joe Rogan — whose audience is 81% male — just before the election amassed nearly 40 million views in just three days, reaching millions of male voters across the country.
In the recent election cycle, traditionally liberal and left leaning demographics shifted red. Trump supporters who are women and part of marginalized groups, impacted by issues including abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and immigration, told The Daily Cardinal how their values aligned with the president-elect.
Supports undeterred by claims of authoritarianism, see Project 2025 as false attack
Following Trump’s electoral victory, many individuals have labeled Trump an authoritarian.
“I would say that there’s some truth to that,” said Doreen, a Wisconsin-based Amazon influencer who voted for Trump. “Being a billionaire business owner, I think [authoritarianism] is a trait in a lot of leadership positions.”
Christopher Slinker, a Republican activist and real estate agent, does not consider Trump authoritarian, noting his lack of ability to do what he wants whenever he wants.
“He is going to be checked and have balances more so than the normal president because of how visceral the Democrats are about him personally,” Slinker said.
Project 2025 is a multi-step project written by over 100 Republicans detailing a four pillar plan to reshape the federal government. President-elect Trump denies any connection to the project, calling certain proposals “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”
Key contributors to the project remain close confidants of Trump, including Trump’s nominee for the White House Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought and Brendan Carr, who will lead the Federal Communications Commission. Recently, Trump has tapped nearly six Project 2025 authors to his administration as well.
But Doreen is not worried about Trump’s cabinet picks despite some of their ties to Project 2025.
“I don’t think that we can stay away from some of the people that he picked…[Trump's] priority when he’s choosing [cabinet members] is really loyalty,” Doreen said.
Slinker is not concerned by Project 2025, calling it an “excuse” for Democrats to attack Republican candidates.
“I have not heard any Republican, including the Trump campaign, including any of our Senate campaigns or Assembly campaigns, even talk about Project 2025, so I think it’s a false attack,” said Slinker.
Supporters see Trump as the most qualified candidate
In an interview with Rogan ahead of the election, Vice President-elect JD Vance said the campaign would win the “normal gay guy vote.”
Slinker, who is gay, said he was unaware of Vance’s comments.
While Slinker said he is empathetic towards transgender people and thinks life should be easier for transgender youth, he told the Cardinal “a boy is a boy, a girl is a girl.”
“What I don’t support is the government forcing that upon others,” said Slinker.
Magaly, a University of Wisconsin-Madison freshman who comes from a family of Latinos who support Trump, thought Trump ran a stronger campaign than Harris because ”he didn’t have all of these celebrities dancing, making the country look like a joke.”
Trump rallies included performances from musicians and comedians alike. Magaly said Harris could have won her vote if she hadn’t “pretended to be Black when she’s not,” adding that “she’s Indian." Harris was born to an Indian mother and Jamaican father and has long identified as both Black and South Asian American.
Doreen said Harris’ downfall came from her failure to separate herself from President Joe Biden, and the policies she did differentiate from Biden, “she doesn’t even have the authority to grant.”
Doreen, a devout Catholic, considers herself a woman of “traditional values.”
“I am not somebody that necessarily believes that a woman should be a President of the United States,” Doreen said. “Now there are some exceptions to that, [like] Margaret Thatcher. They called her the Iron Lady for a reason.”
Doreen, who believes women “wear their heart on their sleeves,” said they are unfit to run the country because it’s not a “part of their DNA.”
On the campaign trail, Doreen said Trump should’ve “regurgitated” the message of his last term rather than “blowing his mouth off and sounding like an idiot.”
“Morally, he’s a sinner,” Doreen said. “[But I’m] not electing the man, [I’m] electing the policies.”
Doreen said she voted for Trump for a variety of reasons, including her belief he would lead to a “more prosperous” economy, noting increasing grocery prices, and being “100% pro-life.” Trump has previously said he would leave abortion up to individual states, but has declined to endorse a national abortion ban.
Doreen said she has “friends who are not married, or not moms,” who share different opinions about abortion, including using phrases like “back the vag.”
“For me, just because she’s a woman and has a uterus, doesn’t mean that I’m going to cast my vote for her,” Doreen said.
Voters support Trump’s immigration policy
Magaly, an Illinois native who voted in Wisconsin, told the Cardinal she values a secure border.
“In my neighborhood, there’s these two guys dressed up, going and assaulting people,” Magaly said. Magaly didn’t know their immigration status, but said she believes “you can tell when someone is not from here.”
“[You can tell whether someone is legal or illegal] when they’re in the streets, when you see them coming into stores and just looking around and stuff,” Magaly said.
Voters view Trump as the right choice for the economy
In Milwaukee, the GOP also targeted Black and Latino voters, opening centers on the north and south sides to engage with their communities.
Gerard Randall, a Black Milwaukee resident and top Wisconsin GOP official, credited Trump’s increase in Black support to his “full-throated effort” into outreach to African American voters, especially through community outreach centers.
Following this election, Randall hopes “people will pay more attention to policy, not personality.”
Along with outreach to communities of color, other Wisconsin voters found appeal in Trump’s economic and social policies.
“A lot of people like me voted for their wallet,” Randall said.
But voters weren’t fully in on Trump’s economic policy. Slinker, who told the Cardinal Trump’s tax cuts weren’t “directed at enough people,” said he hopes Trump changes the criteria for further tax cuts under his second term.
“Many hard-working Americans did not benefit from [Trump’s tax cuts],” Slinker said.
Doreen also doesn’t think Trump’s policy is perfect. She said Trump is a “big spender” and is concerned with his positions on foreign policy and tariffs.
“I’m hoping he gets it under control,” Doreen said. “I just don’t think you can say you’re just gonna tariff everything… It’s gonna blow up in his face if he does that.”
Supporters split on heads of new Department of Government Efficiency
Billionaire Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy were named heads of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The department aims to “dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies.”
Doreen is happy Trump is addressing government spending habits, but is weary of Musk’s position as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency, seeing Musk and Trump’s tight-knit relationship as a potential conflict of interest.
“With Elon Musk being so close to Trump, is it truly going to be unbiased? I’m not sure about that,” Doreen said.
Slinker said Musk and Ramaswamy are “perfectly equipped” to lead DOGE.
“As Republicans…we’ve always said the government needs to run more like a business,” Slinker said.
