More than a year into President Donald Trump’s second term, some of his supporters in Nevada say his performance has been uneven, while others argue his policies need more time to take effect.
Trump campaigned on strengthening the economy, tightening immigration enforcement and making life more affordable for Americans.
As he prepares to deliver his latest State of the Union address, Republican voters offered differing assessments of how those promises have played out so far.
Peter Scougale, treasurer of the Elko County Republican Party, said economic gains have not been as visible as he expected.
“I don't see much progress being made on the economy, to be honest,” Scougale said.
At the same time, he cautioned against assigning too much responsibility to any president for economic conditions.
“I think in general, presidential administrations get way more credit than they deserve for good things and way more blame than they deserve for bad things in general,” he said.
On immigration, Scougale said he supported early enforcement efforts that focused on people with criminal records. However, he criticized what he described as a more public-facing strategy in later actions.
“Just announcing to the press ‘we're doing this,’ ‘we're doing that.’ And look at this squad going walking down the streets of Minneapolis here. I think there's a right way to go about things, and a wrong way,” he said.
Scott Gavorsky, chair of the Elko County Republican Party, offered a more favorable view of the administration’s first year. He pointed to domestic energy production, industrial development and tariff policy as indicators that long-term economic changes are underway.
“This was always going to be an eight to 12 month process, right? That doesn't really get started until last May. So we haven't really seen, I think, the full impact of these policies,” Gavorsky said.
Affordability remains a concern, he acknowledged, but argued that broader structural changes take time to filter down to consumers.
On immigration, Gavorsky said the administration inherited a complicated situation and faced limited options in addressing it.
“It’s such a complicated mess that there’s no good ways [sic] around it in terms of the best way to approach these policies,” he said.
Despite their differing perspectives, both men said they would cast the same vote again if the 2024 election were held today.
They added that the trajectory of the economy, particularly whether voters feel tangible relief from high prices, will likely shape Republican performance in the upcoming midterm elections.
