Jan 20 -

U.S. President Donald Trump's supporters on Monday praised

his swift executive actions upon his return to the White House,

while critics derided his planned mass deportations and a

rollback in diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Others said they tuned out the inauguration altogether.

More than a dozen interviews with Americans nationwide

indicated that the country remains polarized even as Trump in

his inaugural address sought to portray himself as a peacemaker

and unifier. Still, his speech was often sharply partisan as he

promised a crackdown on illegal immigration and plans to usher

in a sweeping agenda to reshape the federal government.

Trump, a Republican, lost to former President Joe Biden

in 2020 and then beat Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in

November 2024 on promises to strengthen the economy, tighten

immigration laws and curb regulations on business while slashing

the "deep state" federal bureaucracy.

The election was close, Republicans hold slim majorities

in Congress and many experts say Trump will have to struggle to

push through an agenda that could have an indelible impact on

millions of Americans.

In San Marcos, California, there were only two men

seeking work on Monday in a Home Depot ( HD ) parking lot where many

immigrant day laborers typically congregate. They expressed

concern that Trump's policies would disrupt the construction and

agriculture industries that depend on immigrant labor.

"Many of the guys who come here looking for work didn't show

because supposedly there was going to be a raid," said Baudelio

Victorio, 51, a legal U.S. resident, who has been in the country

for 12 years.

In Los Angeles, the second largest U.S. city where 24 people

have died in unprecedented wildfires, residents worried about

how Trump would respond to the blazes that have displaced

thousands and destroyed more than 10,000 structures.

"I would hope he would have sympathy for us dealing with

this situation," said Denise Jones, 61, a claims adjuster who

lost her house in Altadena. "Will he send resources? Do I

believe that he is going to? No."

Trump has criticized California's response to the wildfires

in Los Angeles and will visit the state on Friday to tour the

damage. He and Republican allies have spoken about possibly

withholding disaster aid and have accused Democratic state

officials of mismanaging water resources and forests.

Elementary school teacher Sandy Burch, who evacuated her

California home for 11 days due to the fire, said she voted for

Trump and was looking forward to his visit.

"He's a very clever man," Burch said. "I'm sure he will

think of something to help."

Trump settles into the Oval Office at a time of declining

interest rates and positive job growth. But many voters were

unhappy with the economy under Biden and business owners and

conservative voters expressed optimism about putting Trump back

at the helm of the world's largest economy.

Jamal Johnson, 59, a cryptocurrency enthusiast, said he

voted for Trump because the Republican has championed digital

currency. He said the economy has been a sore spot for

communities like Englewood, a predominately Black and

impoverished neighborhood on Chicago's Southside.

"Because of the economy and the state of things, people are

in fear," Johnson said.

In Texas, Jac Jones who lives outside of Houston and

installs museum exhibits, said she is "extremely nervous" about

women's rights. Jones, 39, said she worries that Trump "has

surrounded himself with soulless advisors and billionaires who

will try to crush us just to get richer."

Women's rights have been a concern for Trump critics since

the U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices appointed by Trump,

overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending the federal guarantee to

a woman's right to an abortion. On Saturday, thousands gathered

in Washington to protest Trump's inauguration and policies.

Still, the protest was far smaller than those during Trump's

first term in 2017. The U.S. women's rights movement now seems

more splintered.

Karla Miller is one of a handful of people Reuters spoke to

who did not tune into the inauguration. The pastor of First

Congregational Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina, instead

spent the day with her congregation to honor Martin Luther King,

Jr. on the national holiday in his honor.

"I preached on Grounding - how to move forward even

though we are feeling a sense of impending doom and chaos," said

Miller, who voted for Harris.

With Trump's inauguration coinciding with the King

holiday, civil rights leaders called it ironic that Trump spoke

in his inaugural speech of being a "peacemaker" and "unifier".

"We know he's going to do exactly the opposite, in

particular making sure that he serves his conservative base,"

said Jamarr Brown, executive director of Color of Change PAC.

Paul Hambleton, a Democratic state party chair in St. Croix

County, Wisconsin, noted America is "still a democracy."

Hambleton called the King holiday "a much needed reminder

that our democracy has changed and adapted to new times in the

past, that we will again, and that human and civil rights remain

central to our nation."

(Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta in Los Angeles, Peter

Henderson in San Francisco, Keith Coffman in Colorado, Stephanie

Kelley in New York, Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Kat

Stafford and David Gregorio)