Focus group: Black men who backed Trump approve of his presidency — but raise some concerns about DOGE

New conversations with Black men who voted for Donald Trump in swing states in November showed that nearly all of them remain staunchly with him, but his administration's Department of Government Efficiency and his tariffs are potential pain points for the president among his supporters.
Some of these men — who participated in a recent focus group observed by NBC News as part of the 2025 Deciders series, produced by Syracuse University and the research firms Engagious and Sago — raised concerns about the speed of the DOGE cuts and billionaire Elon Musk's power, while others backed the department's attempt to address a bloated government.
Overall, they remain largely supportive of Trump because they believe he's taken the decisive action he promised on the campaign trail, and 10 of the 12 focus group participants stand by their vote in November, with the remaining two saying they wouldn't vote for Trump again if given a do-over.
These Trump-voting Black men, including some who voted for Joe Biden in 2020, also expressed deep frustration with a rudderless Democratic Party, and were divided on the future of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
DOGE cuts break through
This group included six independents, four Democrats and two Republicans. Five of these voters — the four Democrats and one independent — said they voted for Biden in 2020 before backing Trump in 2024. Unlike a poll, which uses statistical methods to demonstrate how a larger population feels, the focus groups dig deeper into how individual panelists view key questions facing the country.
While 10 of the 12 participants said they approved of Trump's early tenure during his second presidency, the results were far more mixed when it came to Musk and DOGE. Five said they approved of DOGE's actions, three said they disapproved and the rest weren't sure yet.
Among those backing DOGE, the spending audits and cuts were seen as bringing a bit of the private sector to government work, aimed at increasing efficiency of employees paid by taxpayer money.
'Every company needs someone to audit them. You shouldn't be an untouchable, you shouldn't be a sacred cow," said Dorris S., a 56-year-old independent from Pennsylvania. "They're there to maximize productivity and efficiency. I used to manage restaurants, we had health inspectors."
And Illya M., a 37-year-old from Arizona, said that it's time to turn the tables on the federal government.
'They're forcing us to file our taxes, so we're technically doing an audit, so I think everybody should be audited,' he said.
Seven of the 12 participants specifically mentioned the possibility of the Trump administration sending Americans $5,000 checks, with five saying the checks would be funded by DOGE cuts. While Trump and his allies have promoted the idea of sending these 'DOGE dividends,' no decision has been made about whether to do so.
The positive sentiment about DOGE was far from universal, and even those who said they supported its efforts weren't necessarily sold on its implementation.
Illya M. went on to add that he 'heard they got the numbers wrong at some point,' adding, 'I don't see how this is really going to benefit us on a personal basis.'
Among those who disapprove of DOGE's efforts, there were concerns both about Musk's accumulating power and the potential for 'unintended consequences.'
'The volume of the cuts — are there going to be unintended consequences that we didn't see until later down the road?' asked Denzel B., a 37-year-old Democrat from Arizona.
Jeffrey G., a 57-year-old Democrat from Georgia who voted for Biden in 2020 before backing Trump this time, lamented how Trump 'should have gone in with a scalpel instead of a blowtorch.'
'Sure, you want to weed out the bad people that probably are bad people, but you want to keep good employees that are there,' he said.
Thomas A., a 49-year-old Democrat from Georgia who voted for Biden in 2020 and switched to Trump in 2024, said that while DOGE is doing 'some good,' he's concerned about the power Trump has delegated to Musk. He also wondered if DOGE's work could be antithetical to a push to improve the economy and help everyday Americans.
'He's too focused on cutting the weeds and the clutter, but he needs to focus on the economy and how to help people,' he said of Trump.
'Being enthusiastic about DOGE tracks closely with passion for Trump, but passion for Trump doesn't always translate into enthusiasm for DOGE,' said Rich Thau, president of Engagious, who moderated the sessions.
Grading Trump on the economy
Only three out of 12 participants affirmatively said Trump is making battling inflation a top priority, with those who said so largely connecting it to his threats to enact sweeping tariffs or cut government spending.
But that focus wasn't a positive for Jeffrey G., who disapproves of Trump and wouldn't vote for him again if he could do the 2024 election over, because he doesn't agree with the president's economic moves.
'His way of fighting inflation, it's going to be a painful process," he said, "by making other countries pay their share of tariffs."
Most of the participants, who didn't believe Trump has made fighting inflation a top priority, said they didn't necessarily mind.
'He has his hands in so many different things — I can wait 'til he gets to the six-month point, then I'll start worrying,' said Garland S., a 47-year-old Republican from Michigan.
The sentiment meshes with how most of these men view Trump after two months in office, with broad approval of his job performance because they say he's being 'aggressive' in his follow-through after the campaign.
'I expected him to be aggressive in a lot of different areas and he's doing exactly that," said Dorris S. "Every few days, you're hearing something different and you're constantly seeing him at work, working, getting stuff done. So that's why I approve."
Tariffs are dividing this group, however. They're particularly concerning to those who aren't fully on board with Trump, such as Denzel B. and Jeffrey G., who both disapprove of Trump after voting for him and both raised concerns about tariffs.
But those still on board with Trump largely see the tariffs as the president's way to bludgeon the world economy into submission and, eventually, tackle rising prices at home.
'I did this past four years with this,' Kasheem S., a 38-year-old independent from Pennsylvania, said of inflation. 'If it has to continue on a little bit 'til it balances itself out, then I don't have a problem with that. It's already been going on.'
Illya M. said that he is giving Trump a wide berth to deliver on his promises for a similar reason: He sees Trump as someone who's willing to at least try to make change.
'He did a lot of things — whether it actually happens exactly how he wanted it to happen or not, at least he tried and actually did something. So, that's more than I could say about the Democrats, probably ever,' he said.
Down on Democrats
Other participants shared that sentiment. 'Liars,' 'untrustworthy,' 'ungodly,' 'a weird agenda' and 'weak' were just a few of the words they used to describe the Democratic Party today.
Democrats make 'a bunch of false promises,' said Kasheem S. He added that he views the Democratic agenda as an attack on children, saying Democrats are 'not really relatable, just trying to sell a dream that's not the reality.'
'I think it's chaos,' said Antonio W., 47, of Arizona. 'Holding onto the past. They got nothing, to me, to promote to the American public.'
The self-described Democrats also had some choice words for their party after splitting with it to vote for Trump last year.
'They're weak and hypocritical,' said Marlon M., a 47-year-old Democrat from Pennsylvania, who advised his party to 'stop pointing the finger' and follow through on its promises.
'Right now, they have a lack of leadership,' said Jeffrey G. 'There's not one lone voice right now for the Democratic Party.'
Some felt that Democrats were not looking out for Black Americans or men. In one panel, all five participants said men do not get a fair shake when Democrats are in charge.
And some criticized Democrats for leaning on leaders like former President Barack Obama or celebrities like Cardi B to win their votes.
'They got Obama up here to talk to us men as if he's in control or something,' said Kasheem S., later adding, 'Stop with all the celebrities. ... A lot was spent on celebrities with that campaign and it did nothing for me.'
Critical of their own party, the Democratic Trump voters in the group did seem open to supporting Republican candidates other than Trump moving forward.
'I think voting for Trump now has opened my eyes to more consideration on a Republican side, just naturally,' said Denzel B., who said Republicans could win him over by continuing to build on Trump's agenda.
Thomas A. said Republicans could win his vote if they prioritize their economic policies and lay out 'how it's going to affect me and my family.'
Margaret Talev — director of Syracuse University's Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship, which leads the focus group project in partnership with Engagious/Sago — told NBC News that the group showed that 'whether their embrace now of President Trump or Elon Musk is strong or conditional, they are united in their mistrust of and disappointment with Democrats as the alternative' and represent the 'deep disillusionment of some male voters of color with the Democratic Party."
Partisan divides on DEI
As Trump has made dismantling federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs an early focus of his administration, the participants were divided along party lines over whether such programs should continue, reflecting the broad partisan polarization over DEI programs in a recent NBC News poll.
The four Democrats in the focus groups — Denzel B., Marlon M., Thomas A. and Jeffrey G. — were the only participants to say that DEI programs should continue.
'It may not be perfect, but I think it still has to be something in place to combat discrepancies in the workplace,' said Jeffrey G, who lamented that DEI has been used to question the qualifications of people of color.
The rest of the participants said DEI programs should be eliminated.
'Affirmative action never helped me, so I'm cool with not having affirmative action, DEI or any of that,' said Illya M. 'May the best person get the job.'
Two participants also used the same analogy to underscore their opposition to DEI programs.
'If I'm in the hospital, I'm having surgery, I don't care if the doctor's Black, white, Indian,' said Garland S. 'I want the best doctor.'
The participants also weighed in on Trump suggesting, without offering any evidence or support for that position, that DEI policies were to blame for the deadly midair collision between a plane and an Army helicopter in January.
The same participants who supported DEI programs found Trump's comments objectionable, noting the president made those comments without evidence. The other members of the focus groups did not take issue with Trump's suggestion, and one participant sided with the president.
'I wouldn't even be comfortable knowing that they was a DEI hire — I don't wanna be on this plane,' said Illya M. 'So hey, I'm with him 100%.'
The participants were also asked about an effort from some Trump allies, including conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, to encourage the president to pardon former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of killing George Floyd, a Black man, in 2020. Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests against racism and a national reckoning over race and policing. Chauvin was sentenced on federal and state charges relating to Floyd's death, and Trump could only offer a pardon relating to the federal charges. (Trump, for his part, told reporters earlier this month that he had not heard about the push to pardon Chauvin.)
Several participants said they would be upset if Trump pardoned Chauvin, with Charles B., a 51-year-old Republican from Wake Forest, North Carolina, saying, 'That's a nation that would be pissed.'
But a few appeared open to giving Trump the benefit of the doubt.
'OK, I'm upset,' said Joel A., 65, from Pennsylvania. 'But he might know something that I don't know.'

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