Michigan Swing Voters React: March 2025

Key Takeaways

Out of 13 Michigan swing voters who took part in the focus groups, 10 disapprove of President Trump’s actions since he took office.
For these voters, the top concern is the economy, especially the effects of the recently implemented tariffs.
Voters are worried about whether Congress will step in to limit the president’s power and wondering about Elon Musk’s role in the government.

Almost two months into Donald Trump’s second term as president, the Swing Voter Project caught up with 13 Michigan swing voters. The conversations with these voters focused on their changing perceptions of Trump. They’re particularly concerned about how the president’s tariffs affect the economy. The voters also wonder if Congress will act to limit Trump’s power and about Elon Musk’s role in the administration.

Each month, the Swing Voter Project holds focus groups with voters from key battleground states. Those who take part voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024. The project is a collaboration between Sago, Engagious and Axios.

How Michigan Swing Voters Feel About Trump

During the Swing Voter Project focus groups in February, 11 out of 11 Arizona voters said they approved of Trump’s actions since he took office. In the March focus groups — just four weeks later — 11 out of 13 Michigan swing voters disapproved of what the president has been doing. Their comments included:

“He’s so erratic and it’s getting to the point where I’m almost scared to watch the news. I mean, it’s a little bit frightening. Each day is something new, so you get a little anxious.”

“He campaigned on a lot of things. He’s done a few, but I feel like the cost of living is kind of still scary for people, especially with Canada threatening electricity and higher rates.”

“I feel like a lot of his actions have just been disruptive and creating chaos.”

Voter Expectations vs. What’s Happening

As the voters talked about being disappointed by Trump, they seemed surprised by what the president has done so far. They were then asked how they could be surprised by what’s happening after observing Trump’s first term as president. Here’s some of what they said:

“I don’t feel like he was this aggressive last time, so I don’t think anyone would’ve voted for him if they expected to see what we’re seeing now. I think he just didn’t do a whole lot last time.”

“I think what he campaigned with and compared to what he’s doing is pretty opposite. So, the things that he said he would do to better the economy and make changes that would better our country, it’s not happening.”

“I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t think he was going to take these points of views that he’s taking and that was the surprise for me, I guess.”

Top Concern: The Economy

For all 13 Michigan swing voters, the US economy is a major concern. None of them believe President Trump has made fighting inflation a top priority in his first 50 days. Their comments included:

“It was a big campaign promise, so it feels like maybe that’s being overlooked in favor of other things that maybe aren’t as important.”

“It’s upsetting. I thought that his first 100 days, like he talked about, would be so much better than they are. It is a little frightening too, not knowing if you’ll have a job. Not knowing if you can afford to pay your bills, if you can save money, if your money in the stock market tanks in a day or two. You just feel uncertain about, actually, your future. We’ve got four years of this. It’s not even 90 days and here we are talking like this.”

“I’m fearful. It’s very unsettling. It’s almost like PTSD from other recessions. It’s almost to the point where I feel like are we headed towards something even worse, because of how quickly things have been accelerating.”

How Voters Feel About Trump’s Tariffs

Many of the Michigan swing voters have issues with Trump’s tariffs. Here are a few of their comments:

“I don’t understand the need to piss every other country off, like Canada. We love Canada, don’t we? My whole life, there’s never been a problem with Canada and all of a sudden, now, we’re trying to create issues with Canada.”

“I do home remodeling, so I’m concerned about the price of wood going up because of the tariffs and just home improvement products, because it’ll probably make people less likely to pursue projects that I’ve had estimates out there for.”

“I understand that he’s raising prices for other countries. I do think that they will retaliate as far as exports, imports. And I think that, overall, it will make everyday cost of everything go up directly.”

“I work in automotive and our concerns are the cars will be overpriced … There won’t be anybody buying cars. We won’t be able to have the materials to build the cars and there’ll be layoffs. My layoff just started Monday for six weeks, so it’s already affecting us.”

How Voters View Trump’s Messaging About the Economy

When it comes to the economy, these Michigan swing voters would like to see more reassurance from President Trump. They don’t like what he’s said about the state of the economy. Their comments included:

“I do agree with the tariffs. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad idea, but I don’t like somebody telling me things are going to get bad or worse before they get better. When do they get better?”

“It’s not a good thing to hear your president saying that this is what’s coming and he doesn’t even know what’s ahead.”

“It’s very vague and he’s not given any explanation of what the transition actually is going to entail.”

Do Voters Regret Electing Trump?

The 10 Michigan swing voters who said they were disappointed with Trump were asked if they would change their votes if they could. However, in hindsight, only one would vote for Kamala Harris instead. The other nine would still vote for Trump. Their comments included:

“I feel that America cannot handle a minority female as a president. I feel like that is one of the reasons that I leaned closer to Trump … Trump, we’ve gone through four years with him before, and it’s just kind of just grin and bear it for another four.”

“We’ve got to hope that he can fulfill his promises and maybe there is some method to the madness. But, with Harris, you don’t know where we would be with her right now either.”

“It just seemed like she was not really ready to be in the seat of leadership.”

Concerns About Congress

11 of the 13 Michigan swing voters are worried Congress will not keep Trump’s actions in check. They were asked to talk about their specific concerns regarding Congress and the US system of checks and balances. Some of what they said:

“It’s just a breakdown of democracy, which is what the United States has always been about.”

“A continuation of what’s been already happening. So, more loss of jobs, an increase of inflation, consumer prices, cutting off relationships — necessary relationships with bordering countries — just an escalation of what’s been going on right now.”

“That this will eventually turn into a dictatorship. That if the people that we elected to be his checks and balances don’t check and balance him, then what are they there for?”

“To me, if Congress doesn’t check him, he’ll just continue to go his own way and just drag us down with them.”

Views of Elon Musk

During February’s focus groups, Arizona voters seemed happy with Elon Musk’s role in Trump’s administration. Eight out of 11 participants in last month’s focus groups approved of Musk’s actions.

The Michigan swing voters see Musk in a less positive light. 11 of the 13 expressed disapproval when asked about Musk. Their explanations included comments such as these:

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“Because he wasn’t elected to do anything. I don’t understand his position. It’s a made-up position that they made. Department of whatever. And he’s been going through

with the sledgehammer, just actually dismantling everything, with the approval of Trump.”

“He just thinks he’s got all this power. I think he laid too many people off too quickly here. I think it’s unfortunate that he’s been given this much power.”

“I agree that there is a lot of waste that needs to be taken care of within the government, but I just don’t see how Elon Musk is in a level of knowledge to be able to do anything about it. I just don’t see how he could be put in a position to go through all these things that he has no business doing.”

“Five years ago, 10 years ago, nobody even knew this guy existed … Who is this guy? I see him more than I see the vice president.”

Throughout 2025, the Swing Voter Project will check in with swing voters to hear their perspectives and understand how they feel about President Trump’s second term. Don’t miss a single edition.

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