'Scared to watch the news': Regretful Trump voters in key state 'anxious' about early acts

Michigan swing voters are already having buyer's remorse for Donald Trump's presidency, according to a focus group survey.

Axios reported on a focus group convened by Engagious/Sago found that 10 of 13 participants from the battleground state didn't like what they're seeing and feared that Trump's policies would hurt their personal finances.

"'Erratic,' 'frightening,' 'disruptive' and 'dictator' were among the words they used to describe their concerns," Axios reported.

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While a focus group isn't a statistically significant sample, the voters' comments reflect findings by some polls that suggest Trump has alarmed voters at the start of his presidency and risks overplaying his hand.

"He's so erratic, and it's getting to the point where I'm almost scared to watch the news," said Sheryl M., 44, of Chesterfield. "I mean, it's a little bit frightening 'cause each day is something new, so you get a little anxious."

The participants had all backed Joe Biden in 2020 but switched their votes to Trump last year, with eight self-described independents, four Republicans and one Democrat, and their responses were dramatically different from those reported by a similar focus group convened last month in Arizona, all of whom expressed approval for his early actions.

"I don't feel like he was this aggressive last time because I don't think anyone would've voted for him if they expected to see what we're seeing now," said Shannon B., 27, of Livonia.

The participants expressed disapproval for his antagonization of Canada and his "childlike" freeze-out of the Associated Press from the White House and Air Force One because the news agency won't go along with his insistence on renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

"I mean, Canada? When have we ever had issues with Canada?" said Phil L., 45, of Dearborn Heights. "We barely have a border. You can go in and out of the country and a lot of places, a lot of states. I think we're just barking up the wrong tree with this."

Several participants expressed concern about his handling of the economy, and one voter conceded that Trump had campaigned on tariffs but said the scope was still surprising.

"We didn't necessarily think it would be this much, this fast," said Michael L., 43, of Commerce Township. "[He] campaigned on lowering prices and making things more affordable for working-class people. He's moving in the opposite direction."

Only one of the 10 Trump-voters-turned skeptics said they would back Kamala Harris if they had a do-over, and three of the voters who did support his early actions said they liked that he appeared to be getting things done.

"He said that he would get busy as soon as he got in office, and I feel like he has," said Kara B., 39, of DeWitt.