6 events in Passaic County with a date

Partisanship colors views of Trump term

Opinions differ sharply as first year in office ends

By: Trevor Hughes
Karissa Waddick
Terry Collions
and Lauren Villagran
USA Today

..... President Donald Trump swept back into the White House one ear ago, January 20, 2025, laying out a series of promises during his inaugural address: Property. Security. Respect. Hope.
..... Trump's popularity is slipping nationally, with one recent poll showing 58% of the public thinks his first year was a failure.
..... However, whether Americans think he's succeeded or failed depends heavily on political persuasion.
..... USA Today interviewed people around the country to hear their perspectives.

Kansas cattle rancher

..... Sitting in his new one-ton Ford F-350 pickup, Kansas cattle rancher Hal Luthi, 73, said he appreciates the historically high price he;s getting for beef cows, and Americans' willingness to pay them.
..... "We're experiencing some rally good times right now," Luthi said, allowing home to pay down debt and prepare for the inevitable lean years.
..... He said Trump's approach to the economy has driven down the interest rates he pays along with most other forms of inflation, although fertilizer prices have continued rising.
..... The president has also floated importing more beef from Argentina, which could potentially undercut profits for U.S. ranchers.
..... Luthi said some of his neighbors who live off oil well lease profits are worried about the plummeting per-barrel price, but he's happy it costs him less to fuel up his new pickup. And he said he's seen little impact from immigration enforcement .
..... "There's people in our own community who are struggling, of course," said Luthi, a lifelong Republican. "But I have the feeling our country is heading in the right direction."

Child care provider in Chicago

..... Chicago licensed child care provider Jamila Wilson, 48, hears the fear when she talks to parents dropping off or picking their kids.
..... In the fall, Trump sent hundreds of immigration officers into Chicago for Operation Midway Blitz. In addition, Wilson provides federally subsidized child care for working parents, and Trump is trying to halt or pause those subsidies.
..... She said it's hard not to feel singled out, and to compare the treatment of people like her with that of the billionaires who surround Trump. "I think he's targeting Black and Brown communities. It's horrible," Wilson said. "It makes us feel like we're unworthy, that our president is not for us. Prices are going up and payments are going down or staying steadfast."
..... She said conservative suggestions that more women should stay home with their kids are laughable when most families need two incomes.
..... "I mean, gas is down, whoop-de-do, but we still have to pay for food, pay our mortgages," Wilson said. "He's doing things out of spite."

Coal town resident

..... In Colorado's coal country, Trula Simmons, 61, said the president's first-term promise to protect mining jobs haven't exactly panned out: The mine where her husband and son worked shut down December 31. [2025] But both were able to get other mining jobs, and she's still a Trump fan.
..... Many of Simmons' neighbors struggled during the Obama and Biden years, as the two Democratic presidents, concerned about climate change, raised the costs for burning coal to make electricity. Trump in his inaugural address said National security and artificial intelligence both demand reliable power that he argued only nuclear and coal provide.
..... Simmons said lower gas prices have been a big relief for her family members, who typically drive 100 miles round-trip to fill their pantry.
..... She acknowledged that things are harder for young people. But she sees Trump focused on improving the lives of everyday Americans.
..... "He has such a list that he's ticking off at record speeds - things are starting to look up and some rally bad polices are being reversed," Simmons said. "By driving the economy the way he;s planning, it's going to be better."

New England wind far worker

..... For three years, industrial painter Nick Reynolds, 35, has had a steady job building a massive offshore wind farm near his hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. Earning close to $60 an hour and home every night, Reynolds said he was proud to work on a project that will help stabilize electricity costs in the Northeast, which are among the nation's highest.
..... But Trump, who has repeatedly attacked wind turbines as ugly and ineffective, has now twice tried to kill the project, citing unspecified national security concerns. Reynolds and about 12,000 others sent several anxious weeks without work over Christmas before a federal judge in early January [2026] ordered the project restarted.
..... The federal government provided significant tax incentives for the project approved under Biden. Reynolds said the fact that other counties, including China, are investing so heavily in green energy makes him question why Trump is so hostile to it. He doesn't understand why the president would block an effort that would stabilize electricity prices for millions.
..... "It's not the kind of thing that makes you want to vote for Republicans," he said. "He made campaign promises to protect working people, and in my experience, it's been quite the opposite."

Nurse getting graduate degree

..... With increasing back pain from the physical demands of her job, nurse Candace Smith last year [2025] felt it was the right time to become a nurse practitioner, both for her health and to shorten the months-long wait times at her hospital in San Luis Obispo, California. At 33, she took the plunge into grad school and took on the burden of student loans.
..... But changes to federal student loan borrowing limits passed in the 2025 law known as the One Big Beautiful bill threw Smith's plan into turmoil.
..... The law, much of which was drafted by the White House, imposed a lifetime cap on graduate borrowing and limited loans for graduat4e students in fields not considered "professional," which now includes nursing.
..... Due to the change, set to take effect in July, [2026] smith said she will need to work more hours to pay her bills and afford tuition. In April, [2026] she's also expecting the rent for her one-bedroom apartment to increase. She's putting of contributing to retirement and opting to shop at again grocery stores.
..... "The cost of everything is going up and wages are not going up in the same fashion."

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