As Donald J. Trump takes office once again, he will represent millions who enthusiastically support him, millions who forcefully oppose him and, perhaps most critically, millions in between.
This last group of voters may have been decisive in the November election: people who were unhappy about their choices, frustrated with the nation’s leadership and skeptical about the way forward.
Over the next 100 days, we will be keeping in touch with some of these voters, asking about their hopes and concerns as the second Trump administration unfolds. Many of them cast their votes for Mr. Trump, if with reservations, and will be watching closely his actions and words as the newly re-elected president. They had their first opportunity on Monday, with Mr. Trump’s inauguration speech.
‘It’s kind of hard to tell how this is going to go.’
Darlene Alfieri, 55, from Erie, Penn.
“He can sign all the papers he wants to sign,” said Darlene Alfieri, who watched the speech from the flower shop she runs. “But until it’s actually happening, it’s kind of hard to tell how this is going to go.”
Ms. Alfieri is a longtime Democrat whose growing frustration over the last four years led her to vote for Mr. Trump in 2024. She had serious reservations about him, and still does. But she came away from his inauguration speech feeling slightly optimistic.