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Trump Supporters Expect President-elect to Carry Out Promises
Donald Trump supporters expect him to carry out his campaign promises.
“I expect him to move quickly with his rock-the-boat agenda,” said Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana.
By rock the boat, Vitter means making changes sure to upset people who liked the way things were done in the past.
A Los Angeles Times public opinion study taken before the election found only 43 percent of Trump supporters expected him to win. But now that he is president-elect, Trump supporters expect him to act on his campaign promises and to do so quickly.
Roy Beck heads Numbers USA. It is a group in Virginia that supports limits on immigration and efforts to reduce illegal immigration.
“Politicians often make promises that they do not act on,” Beck said. “But dealing with illegal immigration was so much a part of Trump’s campaign and a large reason why many people voted for him. He has to act.”
However, Beck does not expect Trump to order the removal of all 11 million undocumented immigrants as he once proposed during his campaign.
Focus on American Jobs
“The focus will be on how to get Americans into jobs,” Beck said.
Beck argues many jobs are going to immigrants and that the numbers of both legal and illegal immigrants should be reduced.
Robert Jeffress is minister at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He campaigned for Trump.
Jeffress said Trump will appoint Supreme Court justices who will vote to overturn a 1973 ruling that gave women the right to an abortion.
Jeffress believes Trump is more committed than previous Republican presidents, including Ronald Reagan, to limiting the number of abortions.
A Different Side of Trump
During the campaign, Trump often used harsh criticism to describe his opponents. He regularly called his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, “crooked Hillary.” He called Republican primary opponent Ted Cruz, “lying Ted.”
Jeffress does not expect those kinds of personal attacks to continue.
“I think people are going to be surprised at the difference between candidate Trump and President Trump,” Jeffress told VOA.
David Vitter is leaving the U.S. Senate just as Trump becomes president.
Vitter said Trump has a good chance to win passage of proposals to cut back on government regulations and better enforce immigration laws. That is because he will have a Republican-controlled Congress.
Senator David Vitter.
But Vitter also wants Trump to push an issue not popular with Republican or Democratic members of Congress.
Vitter has long proposed limiting how long a member of Congress can serve or term limits.
Trump took up the Vitter proposal during his campaign for president. Trump said term limits are a good way to make sure politicians represent the people, not special interests.
Expecting Trump to Carry out Major Promises
Kathryn Stellmack of Florida told Reuters she expects Trump to move forward with all his major promises. That includes a promise to be the “greatest jobs president that God has ever created.”
“And if he doesn’t, we will hold his feet to the fire,” she said.
By holding his feet to the fire, Stellmack means protesting if Trump does not carry out campaign promises.
A Trump Supporter Hears the Other Side
Some Trump supporters say they have friends who do not share their good opinions of Trump.
Zach Bartman is a junior at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. He has watched students at some American universities and high schools take to the streets to protest Trump’s victory.
“I have a friend who is gay, and very liberal, and very upset and worried about what Trump will do as president,” Bartman said. “I told him not to worry. I think Trump will be the most pro-gay president ever.”
After the election, Trump described same-sex marriage as settled law.
In effect, Trump was saying the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that states cannot stop same-sex couples from marrying is unlikely to change.
But many people who supported Democrat Hillary Clinton for president are worried.
A new Gallup Poll said 75 percent of Clinton supporters said they were less confident in Trump’s ability to serve as president than they were during the campaign. The same study said 51 percent of U.S. adults described themselves as “more confident” in Trump after the election.
Since the presidential vote, Trump has taken steps to reassure opponents.
“I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me,” Trump said in his victory speech last week.
President elect Donald Trump greets his son Donald Trump Jr. after giving his acceptance speech in New York.
But some said naming Stephen Bannon to a top White House position was a bad sign. The Anti-Defamation League, an activist group, said Bannon ran a conservative news service that “provided a platform for anti-Muslim extremists.”
Trump aides said Bannon is a smart political adviser who does not hold negative views of Muslims and Jews, as some critics claim.
Ninety-five percent of Republicans told Gallup that they are more confident since the November 8 election in Trump’s abilities.
One of those expressing confidence is Robert Straniere, a Republican from Staten Island, New York.
Straniere said he got to know Trump as a successful New York businessman. “We have a president-elect who is a doer and knows how to get things done,” Straniere said. “I think he can get a lot of things done quickly.”
Trump takes office on January 20, 2017.
I’m Dorothy Gundy. And I'm Bruce Alpert.
Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page. Are you looking forward to the Trump presidency? Or are you worried?
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Words in This Story
agenda - n. a list of things to be considered or done
focus - n. the subject on which people's attention is centered
abortion - n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy
commit - v. to see to it that something is done
harsh - adj. severe or cruel
crooked - adj. not honest
gay - adj. sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex
reassure - v. to make someone feel less afraid
pledge - v. promise to do something
confident –adj. to have a feeling of belief that someone or something can do well or succeed