Two Students Reflect on President Trump’s First 50 Days in Office

Just over 50 days into his term, President Donald Trump’s approval rating continues to fall, with a Quinnipiac poll noting that 53% of voters disapprove of his second-term performance. At Fairfield, a Harris and Trump supporter, who The Mirror regularly checked in with during the election season, shared their response to the beginning of Trump’s presidency.

Sophomore John Beam, a Finance major, is “very pleased with the decision that [he] made and the job that has been done so far,” regarding his choice to vote for Trump. Kamala Harris voter Senior Claire DeMarco, a Communication and English double major, believes that “the beginning of this administration has been more frightening than even the most concerned amongst us imagined.”

Beam states, “I certainly do not agree with everything he is doing and how he is handling certain issues, but it is more important to have a strong leader that is a bit extreme than a leader that is too soft like President Biden was.”

When DeMarco decided to cast her vote for Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, it was “[t]heir commitment to women’s bodily autonomy,” and their commitment to “implement gun control policies, provide healthcare to those with pre-existing health conditions” as well as “their opposition to the Project 2025 agenda,” that led her to cast her vote for the Democratic party.

Now, DeMarco believes everyone should be upset by “[t]he ways in which vulnerable communities have been targeted violently.”  And DeMarco notes that “the upheaval and removal of vital educational, health and security institutions,” the core issues that led her to vote for Harris, are being challenged. 

Her statement would likely resonate with other Harris voters at Fairfield, as a Fairfield Mirror non-scientific survey noted abortion access, gun policy and climate change were the top three issues Harris voters related to.

 Beam shares, “Personally, I have not felt any of the impacts of the Trump administration and quite frankly I didn’t feel any effects from the Biden administration,” which he believes shows that “we really have control over our lives and the decisions a president makes are not truly felt by a large number of citizens.” 

When asked who may feel the impacts of the Trump Presidency, DeMarco states that “[a]ny female student, [any] student within the LGBTQIA+ community and any student who is an immigrant themselves, or has immigrant parents feels the most direct effects.” She adds, “Beyond that, anyone whose career path will take them into education or focuses on sustainability or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will feel the effects in their professions.”

When Beam went to vote on Election Day, immigration policy largely determined his vote and his belief that “we have to close the southern border”, a key issue that Trump’s campaign used to galvanize his supporters; a belief which resonated with Fairfield students. In a Fairfield Mirror non-scientific survey of nearly 500 students, 66% of Trump voters noted immigration as a top concern. 

Now, Beam believes “the issue at our southern border is not being talked about as much because it is not an issue anymore as the failed Biden policies have been changed”, with the Department of Homeland Security noting that “border apprehensions have hit a 15-year low under President Trump”. 

Beam then touches upon the economy and tariffs, which was the primary issue that resonated with nearly all Fairfield students voting for Trump, with 95.5% of Trump voters citing it as the top issue they related to, according to the Mirror survey. 

For Beam, he would rather Trump “talk more about the cost of goods and services rather than only talking about tariffs as a good thing,” a belief largely on par with the general public, as a Reuters poll finds that many believe Trump is being too “erratic”, with 70% of voters believing that tariffs will push prices higher. 

When DeMarco spoke about the economic impacts of the current administration, she believes that “Every student already feels the economic effects, and soon the international effects of this administration’s diplomatic failures will be impossible to ignore for all of us,” referencing the rise in inflation under Trump, the U.S.’ removal from the Paris Accords, tariffs against many countries, such as U.S. neighbors Mexico and Canada, as well as the U.S. current treatment of foreign allies. 

“If students aren’t seeing the daily effects, it’s time to wake up,” DeMarco maintains. 

In DeMarco’s view, the Trump campaign relied on an “agenda of hatred”, sustained by “vague mentions of a supposed economic prosperity.” 

She believes that “What has always been clear to those who see right through him has come true- hatred and bigotry take center stage, as they always have, and the average citizen, whether they fell for his lies or not, is left to suffer.”

Then, Beam discusses hopes for the future of Trump’s presidency: “I would like to see President Trump take important steps in making our food more healthy and putting in place initiatives to increase the average life expectancy in this country.” 

Back in November, Beam’s belief that “we need to end the wars abroad” influenced his choice for president. Now, over the next few months, Beam “would like to see Trump reach peaceful agreements in the Middle East and between Ukraine and Russia while of course being committed to diplomacy and not taking reckless steps like the Oval Office debacle was with President Zelenskyy”, referring to the tense Feb. 28 meeting that ended with the Ukrainian president being escorted out of the White House.

As DeMarco looks to the next three years, she “hopes that [Trump] supporters find a way to come to terms with the fact that the peace and opportunity that they robbed from others will never find them under this man and his fellow oligarchs.”

Beam, similar to DeMarco’s view that “the country is divided”, he “truly feel[s] that our country is still very divided.” However, his stance is that “Trump is doing good things and bad things and people must look at what is happening on a case-by-case basis and ask themselves, is this something that goes against my values?”

It is Beam’s belief “that after Trump’s term is up, we will be able to return to a more healed nation led by a less polarizing figure who has the interests of all people in mind and is committed to common sense.”

DeMarco wishes she didn’t have to wait: “It’s especially unfortunate because this is a point in history where time sensitive issues most need our attention- climate change, gun control, reproductive care, healthcare access, etc. and our government is too busy with pettiness or business interests to address them.”

Editor’s Note: This article is a part of The Mirror’s post-election coverage. The Mirror reached out to other students for this article who did not respond in time for publication. We will continue to check in with students after the first three months of the second term of the Trump presidency.