Then former president Donald Trump was re-elected to a historic second non-consecutive term on November 5th, 2024. Donald Trump won a decisive victory against then Vice President Kamala Harris, winning 312 electoral votes to Harris’s 226. Despite Trump’s victory in the electoral college, Trump only defeated Harris by 1.5% in the popular vote. Donald Trump’s 49.8% vote total of the popular vote compared to Kamala Harris’s 48.3% vote total showed that the country was still very divided over whom they wished to see occupy the Oval Office.
A previous poll conducted by the Columns Section Editor Megan Duncan in November of 2024 sought to gauge the reaction to the 2024 presidential election results. The first of three questions asked, “Are you happy with the results of the presidential election?” “The question was met with division; 45% of students were unhappy with the election results, while 39% were happy with the results.”
After seeing a divided reaction to the re-election of Donald J. Trump, I wanted to see how Fairmont State students felt one month after the start of his second term. The results could not be any clearer: Fairmont State students are divided over the job performance of Donald Trump’s second term in office. Under the promise of anonymity, thirty Fairmont State students were interviewed about their stance on the performance of the Trump administration so far.
The participants of the survey ranged in age, race, gender, major, and graduating class. Seventeen of the participants stated that they were dissatisfied with the Trump administration’s job performance so far. Thirteen other students stated that they were satisfied with the Trump administration’s job performance. Despite every participant having a hardline stance either in support or opposition to the Trump administration, the reasoning behind the stances varied greatly. One student criticized President Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented migrants and for people with temporary status in the us. “Donald Trump is signing executive orders that are blatantly unconstitutional. Ending birthright citizenship? Ever heard of the fourteenth amendment? Do not even get me started about his little partnership with Elon Musk,” the student said. Another student stated that they approved of the Trump administration’s job performance, particularly regarding DOGE’s efforts to slash federal spending. “I like what Trump and DOGE are doing with spending. Like, why do we need to send money to all these foreign countries that are not interested in helping the United States? Whether or not Ukraine wins their war will not affect my life, really. I just want to be able to go to the store, buy cheap groceries, and live my life without being told what to do,” the student said.
One student was enthusiastic about their support for Trump. “Donald Trump is going to save this country. We have had to deal with woke policies for too long. We are finally going back to normal in this country. I am proud to be an American again,” they said. The sentiment about American pride was not shared by all the participants, however. “Donald Trump is bringing great shame to the United States of America. We look like a joke with everything that is going on. I fear that Donald Trump may destroy our country’s image on the world stage, and he might destroy our country too,” said another student.
Fairmont State University students are divided regarding the Trump administration’s job performance. Donald Trump has proven himself to be a controversial and polarizing figure in American politics. Despite Fairmont State being in a state that Trump won by 41.91 points and a county that Trump won by 32.24 points, the students at Fairmont State University are not universally supportive of the Trump administration. Only time will tell if President Trump proves to become more popular with college students or if he continues to be a divisive figure in American politics.
