Post-Election Day, we asked Trump voters of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us what they wish they’d known before they voted for him and why they might now regret it. The results are interesting:
1.“Well, this is the truth as I see it. I voted and let the chips fall where they may. Now I get to wait and see. There are many things that could happen. No one really knows exactly how it will go. The only things that concern me are nuclear weapons. Once they are launched, there is no blowing them up or intercepting them; that nonsense is for the movies. Then there is Russia, North Korea (who obviously seem pretty tight), and China. The concern is that North Koreans are now fighting for Russia; what do you think Putin gave Kim for that boost?”
“I could care less about politics; that crap is for the 1% type of people who are rich.”
—zery
Chandan Khanna / AFP via Getty Images
2.“Here’s the thing: I didn’t vote, but if I did, I would’ve picked Trump. Now, I’m second-guessing it because I’m worried about the Department of Education and how tariffs will impact me. The reason I sided with him is that there are too many dangerous, undocumented immigrants in the US, and I am very passionate about the fact that abortion is the murder of a defenseless human infant. However, looking at where the economy will go and wondering what future schools will be like makes me anxious.”
-Anonymous, 26, Iowa
3.“My 20-year-old son is now worried about losing health insurance. Our family joke is that the Affordable Care Act’s best chance to remain is with a few minor tweaks, an obligatory victory lap, and be rebranded as ‘TrumpCare.'”
4.“I wish I knew he would mess with the Department of Education. I have two kids with IEPs and one in college.”
-Anonymous, 40, Georgia
5.“I wish I had known who Trump’s cabinet picks would have been. He is nominating poorly qualified and morally compromised individuals. I’m especially concerned about RFK Jr. and his history of making millions by suing vaccine companies and presenting false conclusions on vaccines as facts. RFK and others being chosen for cabinet positions are good at convincing people (like Trump) of lies that are based on anecdotes and feelings. I still would not vote for Harris, but I regret that a better conservative candidate was not an option.”
-Anonymous, 44, South Carolina
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6.“I wouldn’t say that I regret voting for Trump again, but I wish he expanded on who his cabinet would be. I don’t like who’s currently being picked, and I don’t see them as fit or qualified as he is. I’m worried that this means government jobs are in danger, which would have been nice to know beforehand.”
-Anonymous, 42, Tennessee
7.“The threat of tariffs has caused insurance companies to reverse their previous approval of drug therapies. Prior to the election, I was approved for a course of treatment with a very expensive drug. Fast forward three weeks after the election, I get a notice from my insurance company that they are no longer approving the drug. What happened in the meantime? The threat of tariffs, and guess where my drug is manufactured — China.”
-Anonymous, N/A, United States
Jay L. Clendenin / Getty Images
8.“I was really excited about voting for Trump because I wanted to free Palestine, but then, when he got elected, he picked a bunch of zionists for his cabinet, and now I think the news might have lied to me about Trump.”
-Anonymous, 32, Pennsylvania
9.“I thought the pandemic had passed…what harm could he do now? I honestly was pro-Trump because I want some control on immigration. But he’s not even in office yet and about to throw the last nail in the coffin for public education. I fear public education will not survive.”
10.“Terrible cabinet choices.”
-Anonymous, 66, Florida
11.“His poor cabinet selections.”
-Anonymous, 81, Massachusetts
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
12.“His cabinet choices are ridiculous! And now the deportations are already forcing essential employees to leave.”
-Anonymous, 66, California
13.“I voted for Donald Trump because he said there wouldn’t be a tax on overtime work. But now I’m hearing that there won’t be overtime work at all. He won’t clarify these possibilities of overtime going away, and I keep seeing jobs big in labor getting layoffs and bonuses being cut. He hasn’t come out and clarified these possibilities, but it would clear my mind and decision to vote for him if he did.”
14.“I was in support of the mass deportation plan, but only in phases. I think he might go back on that plan and go 100% in, and I’m hearing that could cause some higher prices on groceries. I do worry about that, but I would not have voted for Kamala.”
-Anonymous, 38, South Carolina
15.“It seemed like no one wanted to reach out to my demographic — young men. We’re not all “Rogan bros” — it seemed like only Donald Trump gave us a seat at the big table. But now I’m worried about his drilling comments and what they might mean for gas prices. I don’t think the tariffs will cause too much of an increase, but I didn’t know, and he didn’t explain how important Mexico and Canada are to our trade. I don’t like the ‘I told you so’ from leftists before he’s even back. We’ll have to wait and see this play out.”
16.“I’ll be honest here: I voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 with no second thoughts, but this year is different. I think either candidate would bring in the big guns; I thought he outweighed hers. But I see now how mass deportations on Day 1 could be bad. I had no idea undocumented people paid taxes, and quite a bit of them. I bought into some misinformation, which is something everyone should admit to. But I want to believe that most of what he says has a thick layer of truth and maybe a slice of dramatics to get you to listen.”
-Anonymous, 58, Georgia
Entries have been edited for length and clarity.
