Trump voters are starting to get burned by DOGE’s chainsaw

At some point, you have to stop feeling bad for people who repeatedly stick their hand in the fire and act shocked when it burns. Come on, folks — how many times do you need to touch a stove before you realize it’s hot?

Take Bradley Bartell, a Wisconsin man who voted for Trump in 2024 and is now devastated because ICE has detained and may deport his Peruvian wife. He “knew they were cracking down,” he says. “I guess I didn’t know how it was going down.”

Really, Bradley? You voted for the guy who said he was going to round up immigrants, but somehow you didn’t get the memo?

Then there’s David Pasquino, a vet who worked for Veterans Affairs until Trump’s so-called “efficiency” cuts came around. Now he’s complaining about the “chainsaw” they used instead of a “scalpel.” Now, he feels “betrayed.”

Did you think being a veteran would save you from the guy who refers to fallen service members as “losers” and “suckers,” David?

And Jennifer Piggott, who proudly flew a Trump campaign flag outside her home, was abruptly fired from her job at the Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Service in Parkersburg, West Virginia. “I feel a little bit betrayed,” she told Reuters.

These aren’t isolated incidents. This is a self-inflicted catastrophe. That same anger is also appearing in town hall meetings held by Republican members of Congress — at least the ones who still dare to hold such events.

For those of us who spent years waving red flags, the temptation is to yell, “Told ya so!”

Now, don’t get me wrong. Reveling in someone else’s misery is, at best, bad form. No decent person wants to rub salt in the wounds of someone who just lost their job (to DOGE), their farm (Trump’s tariffs are not doing farmers any favors) or their spouse (to deportation). It’s ugly.

But what are we supposed to do when people repeatedly ignore every warning and only wake up when they’ve been slammed in the face with the consequences? Are we supposed to act like it wasn’t obvious? Are we supposed to feel bad that reality is turning their nice, shiny fantasies into a dumpster fire?

Sure, there’s a certain karmic justice in all of this. But karma makes for a terrible political strategy. Because, as much as it might seem like these personal reckonings should spark some soul-searching, that’s not how the real world works.

People don’t typically experience hardship and say, “Wow, I miscalculated.” Instead, they think, “This isn’t fair. This isn’t supposed to happen to me.”

And then they seek out an external villain — the “deep state,” immigrants, the media, you name it. Admitting you were wrong is more difficult than doubling down.

So here’s the question: Will these personal wake-up calls matter? Will they make people take a long, hard look in the mirror and realize they were duped by Trump? The short answer is: It depends.

The hardcore Trump base won’t abandon ship just because prices didn’t come down and their brother-in-law lost his government job. They’ve stuck with Trump through every storm and are in it for the long haul.

But let’s not forget, Trump didn’t win 77 million votes just from his base. He also tapped into support from Americans who were fed up with the system. Economic issues like inflation and general frustration with the Biden administration helped fuel his rise. Latino men, young people and casual “low information” voters — people who have rarely leaned toward Republicans — decided to take a chance on him.

These are the folks who figured, “What the heck, maybe he’ll fix things.” Now, they’re the ones getting hit the hardest and possibly regretting their decision.

As buyer’s remorse starts to spread, it’s like watching a slow-motion trainwreck. As Nate Silver and Eli McKown-Dawson pointed out, Trump’s approval rating is dropping. He is now 5 points underwater, with 47 percent approval and 52 percent disapproval.

While Trump is losing support among some of his voters, he is unlikely to lose all of it in today’s polarized world — especially with media bubbles filtering out inconvenient news and views.

A February Vanderbilt poll shows that 52 percent of Republicans now align more with MAGA than the traditional GOP, an increase from June 2023. However, most non-MAGA Republicans will also stand by their man, no matter what he says or does.

The real shift may come from “soft” supporters — those who joined Trump’s movement in 2024. These are the folks who might abandon ship if Trump keeps starting fires that scorch them too.

The question isn’t whether Trump will lose his base. He won’t; that’s a given. It’s whether enough of those fair-weather voters, the ones who thought they could just kick back and enjoy the show, will wake up.

But don’t hold your breath. Some people still refuse to learn — even after they get burned. Because, really, what did you expect?

Matt K. Lewis is a columnist, podcaster and author of the books “Too Dumb to Fail” and “Filthy Rich Politicians.”