The nation is just hours away from witnessing a historic moment in presidential history with the second, nonconsecutive inauguration of Donald Trump. Moments like these do call for pomp and circumstance but after confetti has settled and the last dances are called at inaugural balls, the real work of Trump’s administration officially begins.
Call it “Trump 2.0” or whatever you prefer but there is no escaping the fact that president-elect Trump is still doing things differently than the typical Washington norms. He and his team have moved at an unprecedented rate to assemble his cabinet picks, usher them through the Senate crucible, and generate popular support for their confirmation.
There isn’t a pundit, critic, or ally alike that doesn’t think the tasks which await Trump aren’t daunting, Herculean, or maybe even impossible as a simple function of time. But the American people know that if there’s one person able and willing to do as much as possible, and work harder than anyone, it’s Trump.
The most encouraging element of Trump’s second term is the broad support he has for his agenda from the American electorate. In Cygnal’s latest national voter trends poll, a majority of voters are more enthusiastic about several key issues in the Trump agenda. The first, of course, is the economy, inflation, and the cost of living. Over 85 percent of voters said that issue was extremely or very important. As if fixing the economy wasn’t daunting enough, especially after the hyperinflationary days of the Biden Administration, voters also ranked domestic and foreign policy issues similarly high to the economy, meaning President Trump will have to divide his attention and effort across multiple serious policy fronts.
For instance, 73 percent of voters want his administration to crack down on violent crime and 69 percent want an emphasis on rebuilding our cities making them safe, clean, and beautiful again. A majority, 68 percent, also want him to end taxes on Social Security payments. On the foreign affairs front, 69 percent expect him end or wind down the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
None of this is small potatoes for any president, but it is also exactly why the people gave Trump a true mandate to lead and execute on all these challenging fronts.
President Trump also has three additional issues he will have to contend with in this first year of resuming office: the debt ceiling, extending his “Trump Tax Cuts,” and renewing the expansion of Obamacare.
We’ve already seen a glimpse of the debt ceiling fight last month and Trump’s influence on how that process played out in the halls of Congress. When asked, 39 percent of voters said the debt ceiling should not be raised and that government agencies should be forced to work within current spending limits, while 35 percent said the ceiling should be raised but only if significant cuts were required to manage the national debt.
Enter Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with the deputized organization of DOGE who will undoubtedly be an integral part of bridging the gap between spending cuts and getting the country and shore footing to manage its debt and deficits more effectively.
President Trump will also have to contend with extending his signature “Trump Tax Cuts” as well as the Obamacare expansion from 2021, both set to expire this year. Here too, Trump the support from the electorate with 32 percent wanting the tax cuts to remain permanent. On the Obamacare front, 40 percent support making that expansion permanent while 23 percent want it scrapped and replaced with something else. The point here is that while these fights are looming in Congress, President Trump has options and a mandate to pursue the best one.
This leads us back to that mandate many of the left who can’t seem to accept. Considering the recent fights to reelect Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House and swiftly confirm many of Trump’s critically important cabinet appointments, it’s important to note his mandate is largely embodied in his communications apparatus. With 41 percent of voters now saying social media is their primary source for news consumption, the president will be able to mobilize popular support to push his initiatives across the finish line, especially with the narrowest of margins. This is a recipe for success and a signal of a positive running start for the most transformative and consequential political figure in the modern age.
Mitch Brown is a pollster at Cygnal, the fastest growing and most accurate GOP polling firm.