New Mexican young voters share hopes and fears for new administration

As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House today, young voters are grappling with their hopes and fears for the incoming administration. Following President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election, the Journal interviewed six first-time voters about their thoughts. Now, with the election behind them, we spoke with them to hear how they felt about the results and their expectations for the new administration.

Isabella Lobaina

For Lobaina, a Vice President Kamala Harris voter and freshman at USC, Trump’s victory was both expected and disheartening. “It’s not even about how much people liked Kamala, it’s about Trump’s ability to lie and manipulate,” she said.

She described the atmosphere on her campus during election night as a feeling of resignation. “I watched the results come in with friends, and as disappointing as it was, none of us were really shocked. It felt like we were watching something we already knew would happen,” she said.

Katherine Patton

“It was so tense on campus. Everyone was on edge, and I felt like I was in a bubble that got popped when the results came in,” said Patton, a Harris voter and sophomore at Occidental College. She also said she was surprised at Trump’s margin of victory, and expected it to be much closer.

Patton says the reason that she thinks Harris lost is because of a failure to connect with key parts of the population. “I think her campaign focused too much on identity politics,” she said, “Trump, on the other hand, spoke to everyday issues — high gas prices, expensive groceries — even if he wasn’t being serious. That’s what people wanted to hear.”

Braeden Prunier

“It’s hard to connect with voters when you’re not addressing what’s right in front of them,” said Prunier, a Trump voter and freshman at the University of Chicago. “Kamala’s campaign felt like it was trying to check boxes, but Trump was talking about things people felt every day, like how much they were spending at the grocery store. Even if he didn’t have real solutions, it felt like he was paying attention.”

Rakin Faruk

Faruk, a Democrat and UNM graduate, gave sharp critiques of the Democrats’ strategy, especially when it came to foreign policy. “I 100% think that Democrats lost because of their response to the genocide in Palestine,” Faruk said. “Their both-sides rhetoric alienated voters who expected a clear stance on human rights. People aren’t as dumb as they think.” Faruk also expressed frustration with what she said was Harris’s inconsistent messaging on the issue, depending on the city she was rallying in.

Faruk ultimately decided to vote third-party, saying, “I voted for Jill Stein knowing New Mexico would stay blue. It felt like the only way to vote for my values.”

The appointment of Elon Musk to co-head the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency alongside Vivek Ramaswamy also drew concern from Faruk. “The fact that billionaires are consolidating power this openly is terrifying,” she said. “America has been an oligarchy for a while, but now it’s out in the open.”

Patton, however, found a silver lining in some of Trump’s choices. “Even my left-leaning friends are intrigued by his focus on food safety,” she said, referencing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. “If he can actually get harmful preservatives out of our food, that’s a win for everyone.”

Prunier’s main concern for the future is the deepening partisanship in the country. “People are so angry with each other over politics, it’s tearing the country apart,” he said. Prunier says the growing distrust between parties is a key obstacle. “It’s like we can’t even have conversations anymore. Everything is about winning or losing, and that’s not how we fix things,” he said.

As a student currently in the same city as the LA wildfires, Lobaina has concerns with Trump’s views on climate change. “I live in Los Angeles, people are losing their homes to these fires, I’m supposed to be wearing a mask because of the toxins outside, and all I can think about is how Trump said science isn’t real. But it is, it clearly is.”

The quote that Lobaina referred to is from a 2020 briefing during which Trump dismissed the role of climate change in exacerbating wildfires, stating, “I don’t think science knows, actually.”

Lobaina is also frustrated by Trump’s statements that he’d like to regain control of the Panama Canal and rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

“How is this the thing he wants to change? It’s like he’s not focusing on anything that actually matters,” she said.

While Lobaina saw the comments as a concern, Prunier thinks they’re just meant to create shock value.

“Trump just kind of says things to get people riled up,” he said. “It’s his hallmark, making these outrageous statements to see who he can get angry,” Prunier said, “I’m not sure if he’s really serious about stuff like renaming the Gulf or buying the Panama Canal.”

Prunier has his hopes for the new administration focused on gun legislation. “One of the things I really hope this administration focuses on is reversing some of the unnecessary gun control measures from Trump’s first term,” Prunier said. He pointed to the bump stock ban passed during Trump’s previous administration as a policy he disagreed with. The ban was later overturned by the Supreme Court in 2024. “That law felt like a betrayal to Second Amendment supporters. I want to see more consistency from him this time around.”

Prunier also hopes that Trump works towards uniting the country after his inauguration. “Trump thrives on division, and while that works for elections, it’s not what the country needs right now.”

Lobaina says that she remains cautiously optimistic of today’s soon-to-be inaugurated president. “I hope I get proven wrong. I truly deep in my heart hope that the Trump administration and the Republican Party, for the next four years, are going to actually boost America.”