How did the first week of the Trump presidency affect you? Here’s what you told us.
We asked how the first week of the second Donald Trump presidency affected you. Here’s what you said, lightly edited for clarity:
“It provoked a lot more conversation in our family, awareness of things previously taken for granted, digging into learning topics not understood in the past and pondering how interrelated and significantly complex government has gotten.”
—Gayle Hempel
“Many of my young and queer and trans friends and I are terrified and confused.”
—Sadie La Prairie, 18
“It is refreshing to have more focus on law and order and sanity for the safety and better well-being of American citizens and the world in general.”
—Christopher Jenkins
“Well, our whole neighborhood was just terrorized by the Secret Service looking for an 11-year-old over a social media post at one of my neighborhood schools — and people believing it was ICE.”
—Monica Reynoso
“I’m an oncology social worker. I worry about my patients and their access to care.”
—Steph A., 32
"I feel pride in my country again. We have a president who works for the American people, and he does it tirelessly. The world leaders are on notice and know not to push us around."
—Dawn Spangler
“The first week of the Trump presidency has been nothing short of chaotic .... The flurry of executive orders and the rhetoric coming out of the White House have left me with constant worry. I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, consumed by 'what ifs' about the future.”
—Terri P Williams
“Every day I’m waiting to hear if any of my family members have been deported yet.”
—AJ Vargas, 21
“As Americans, we can be pleased or upset by his presidency. But we should all be hopeful that he succeeds despite our personal ideology. We are the true guardians of our democratic republic. If he doesn't do well, then 'We the People' need to change things at the mid-terms. There will be another president in four years no matter what.”
—Mike Boehmer
“In DuPage County, churches and immigrant advocacy organizations are organizing.”
—Charles Kay, 31
“I’m scared of potential impacts at work (I’m a nurse), grocery stores (tariffs + deportations = prices go up), not to mention the hate-filled rhetoric we have to listen to for four more years.”
—Spencer David Timmons
“As an American veteran, I am ashamed and embarrassed of what this country became in the last week. We must sit on the sidelines while Trump weakens and destroys this country out of spite and political gain. His administration has zero idea what they are doing. But people wanted cheaper eggs.”
—Ben Buttons