• Since Trump took office, listeners have been calling in to right-wing radio shows complaining about the administration’s rhetoric, government cuts, and foreign policy. Some of these callers identified themselves as Trump supporters or Republicans. [Media Matters, 2/26/25]
• Some hosts have noted the increase of such calls but have dismissed the outrage as either “scripted” or not having “merit.” Fox’s Sean Hannity commented, “We have seen an uptick in callers that I promise you are scripted and on-message.” Chris Stigall claimed he was being “bombarded with displeased government workers,” adding, “I don’t care, I just don’t.” The producer of Outkick’s The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show noted that the show was “getting some disagreement” about the hosts’ comments on Ukraine, adding, “But I wouldn’t really say it’s disagreement that has merit.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 3/4/25; Salem News, The Chris Stigall Show, 3/12/25; OutKick and Premiere Radio Networks, The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, 2/28/25]

• A caller to The Brian Kilmeade Show pushed back on Trump’s lie that a significant number of people over the age of 100 were receiving social security checks. The caller asked how people can push back on lies, like when Trump “talked about all of these Social Security recipients over the age of 100. … It has been proven that they are in the system, but they are not actually receiving payments.” [Fox News Radio, The Brian Kilmeade Show, 3/6/25]
• A caller to The Mark Levin Show said that every time he hears Trump mention tariffs, “I cringe.” Caller: “I've been applauding for the past month and a half almost everything the Trump administration has been doing, but I cringe every time I hear him say something like tariff is my favorite word. … I keep hoping that these tariffs are just a means to an end.” [Westwood One, The Mark Levin Show, 3/6/25]
• A caller to The Erick Erickson Show noted that his annual raise may not meet inflationary pressures under Trump: “I don't think I'll ever catch up.” The caller explained: “I would imagine where people work and they do get a raise once a year, but that's only once a year. Inflation is just, like, ongoing. So I don't, I don't think I'll ever catch up.” [Westwood One, The Erick Erickson Show, 3/7/25]

• A self-identified Republican caller phoned Erick Erickson to discuss his veteran wife being “put on the list for termination” just two months shy of the end of her probationary period. The caller also noted that her job would be understaffed, which would likely have a negative impact on America’s military deployment ports, saying, “Trump said stop using a chainsaw and start using a scalpel. But I don't think they, according to my wife, I don't think they are using a scalpel now.” He later added, “I am hoping that they are taking all this into account, of who is retiring this coming year and how short-handed they are now, because I tell you, when the military deploys, she works around the clock.” [Westwood One, The Erick Erickson Show, 3/7/25]
• A caller to The Larry Elder Show asked, “I was just wondering why are you not criticizing the Trump administration” for “cutting the VA 4%?” The caller also noted, “I know that they are overworked and that there’s not enough staff. And just to give you an example of now because of the cuts, the VA in Westwood, which has all these beautiful new brown buildings that are getting ready to open to take the homeless veterans and put them in shelters has now been forced to delay that because they don’t have enough money to staff them once they are open now because of the cuts.” [The Salem Podcast Network, The Larry Elder Show, 3/11/25]
• A caller to Erickson’s show noted that the USAID freeze was impacting his daughter’s anti-malaria work in Africa. Caller: “I just want to let you know about my daughter who is the good part of USAID. She's in the health section, and she's been with anti-malarial the entire 8 years that she’s been with. And they're really kind of stymied now because once every funds were cut off, a lot of the medications were literally on its way to Africa and other high malarial areas. And they frankly don't know what to do. The people who made the medicine have their invoice and they can't get any money, which violates the contract. The same thing with … warehouses, they can't keep the warehouse anymore and they're talking about dumping them out in the garbage. So this is the other part of USAID, the good part, which needs to be addressed pretty quickly.” [Westwood One, The Erick Erickson Show, 2/21/25]
• Another caller to The Erick Erickson Show identified himself as a former “student in special education” and argued that the proposed elimination of the Department of Education would impact special needs students. Caller: “If you cut a lot of the education out federally, you lose a focus on a wide range of special education like, you know, down syndrome and all kinds of ranges of special education.” [Westwood One, The Erick Erickson Show, 3/7/25]
• A caller to The Mark Davis Show complained that the federal layoffs were arbitrary and illegal. The caller claimed “I think that he's wrong” to mass fire federal employees, adding, “You can't arbitrarily just fire government officials. The president sure can't.” [660AM, The Mark Davis Show, 3/6/25]

In February, Trump ratcheted up rhetoric toward Zelensky, accusing him of being a “dictator” and suggesting Ukraine was responsible for starting the war. Then in late February, the leaders had a tense exchange in the oval office where Vice President JD Vance claimed Zelensky was not grateful enough for America’s support.

• A caller on The Larry Elder Show called to say he found Vance’s treatment of Zelensky at the White House “reprehensible” and “entirely uncalled for.” He described JD Vance and Zelensky’s exchange, saying that Vance, “had a president from a very important foreign country in front of him in our Oval Office, a cherished place for the presidency of The United States, and his conduct in the way that he he challenged President Zelensky in front of the media and in front of our president, our secretary of state, and other various president in the room was entirely uncalled for, such a lack of tact.” He added, “And for somebody whose sole military experience is being a spokesperson for the Marine Corps as his only service, with limited knowledge of having boots on the ground in any part of our countries, I just find unfathomable.” He then called for Vance to apologize: “The person that needs to express apologies is JD Vance.” [Salem Podcast Network, The Larry Elder Show, 3/1/25]
• Another caller who identified herself as a “big Trump supporter” said on The Larry Elder Show she “became kind of incensed” listening to Trump “bully” Zelensky. Caller: “It just seemed like the bully was coming out in him, going after Zelensky, and I feel like Zelensky’s kind of in a position where he’s almost defenseless.” [Salem Podcast Network, The Larry Elder Show, 3/1/25]
• A self-identified Trump supporter and former Army colonel called in to Sean Hannity’s show to complain about the way JD Vance talked to Zelensky. Caller: “As soon as JD Vance opened his mouth and started talking, he basically started provoking Zelensky from everything that I can see that this was really a provocation on his part.” [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 3/3/25]
• A self-identified Trump supporter called Erick Erickson to say that Trump’s comments on Ukraine and Zelensky were “off the charts crazy.” [Westwood One, The Erick Erickson Show, 2/28/25]
• One caller to The Steve Gruber Show pushed back on the notion that the rare minerals deal with Ukraine was going to benefit Americans, saying that the deal was really going to benefit corporations. Caller: “How, though, is this rare earth deal going to reimburse the citizenry of our country when those minerals are going to go to corporate entities?” [WJIM, The Steve Gruber Show, 2/28/25]

Additionally, on the March 13 edition of CSPAN’s Washington Journal, the program solicited audience opinions about the prospect of the Department of Education being eliminated. A call came in from the show’s “Republican line,” and the caller said, “I am definitely against it completely.” He added, “These teachers are all underpaid. They are not getting the salaries that they’re deserved. If you take somebody making $100,000 a year that does their job versus somebody making $30,000 a year — who is going to do better? I am totally against taking it away from the teachers. I think we need to focus more on how we can spend tax dollars on paying teachers to be able to educate our children.”