And now, even with the stock market rattled by Trump’s tariff policies and recession fears rising, Johnson remains bullish.

“There might be a rocky road a little bit as the economy resets,” said Johnson. “It’s kind of like when a company files for a reorganization after bankruptcy. … It’s tough times going through that reorganization, but they come out of it a lot stronger.”

Trump’s sledgehammer approach to the economy may be unnerving to stock investors and economists, and in Massachusetts, his push to slash federal funding to universities and hospitals could jeopardize jobs, research, and health care access. But even amid the uncertainty, not everyone is bracing for bad times. Some local CEOs and business owners believe the president’s efforts to restructure the economy and rein in government spending will pay off in the long run.

“I would say pretty universally the sentiment is that businesses are going to be better under the Trump administration,” said Robert Hale, CEO of Granite Telecommunications in Quincy, a self-described fiscally moderate Democrat who was a big supporter of former governor Charlie Baker.

Hale doesn’t agree with all of what Trump is doing, and while the Biden administration did not hurt his business, it didn’t help either. “The Trump administration’s sentiment is pro business, which, as a business person, the wind at your back instead of in your face, is a lot different,” he said.

Other business owners have felt left behind by some of Biden’s signature initiatives, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which injected hundreds of billions of dollars into emerging industries like clean energy.

“Universities, institutions, environmental groups were getting large amounts of funding, and that’s really not how an economy grows,” said Bruce J. Mittman, CEO of Needham advertising agency Mittcom who also owns 34 radio stations across the country. “Government is there to support us and help us grow and keep the marketplaces safe and fair, and borrowing accessible to all, but it’s not there to determine winners and losers, and I think the last administration did that, to their detriment.”

During Trump’s first term, many business leaders and groups clearly distanced themselves on issues ranging from his travel ban of Muslim immigrants to his failure to condemn the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. But in his second term, even as Trump has ratcheted up deportation efforts and anti-diversity rhetoric, executives from Silicon Valley to Wall Street have fallen in line, attending his inauguration and rolling back corporate diversity programs.

Still, Trump remains a polarizing figure, especially in Massachusetts where even supportive business owners often stay quiet because they fear blowback, said Paul Craney, executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. He thinks some business owners who backed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020 switched to Trump in 2024.

“The Biden that was on the campaign stage against Trump four years ago — his first time where he wanted to kind of unify the country — was not the Biden people saw in the White House,” observed Craney. “I know a lot of business owners who just felt they were just basically making it the last four years. It was tough. … They didn’t feel like people in power cared about what they were trying to do.”

But one thing that has been tough to swallow is Trump’s escalating tariff war against Canada, Mexico, China, and other countries. While business owners laud Trump’s goal to bring more manufacturing back to the US, it’s difficult to plan when his strategy keeps evolving.

“If there are tariffs, we will learn to live with them — again, short-term pain through that restructuring, while businesses adapt and people adapt,” said Rod Egger, who lives in Wellesley and serves as CEO of Bariatrix Nutrition, a high-protein food manufacturer with factories in Vermont, Canada, and France. “The worst thing would be to start down a path and then reverse course in six months or 12 months.”

For now, Egger is making minor adjustments but holding off on big moves. He’s bringing about 30 jobs back to the US, shifting from his Montreal factory to Vermont. That’s because much of Bariatrix’s source material is made in the US, and manufacturing in Canada has become more expensive amid the tariff fight.

“If his tariff strategy is well communicated, and well thought out, it could be very effective for reshoring manufacturing to the US,” added Egger.

Then there are business owners like Quincy construction firm owner Jay Cashman, who think it’s way too early to say if Trump’s policies will strengthen the economy.

Cashman, who voted for Trump, said so far he likes the idea of bringing in billionaire businessman Elon Musk to disrupt government and make it more efficient. “I think the world of Elon Musk,” said Cashman. “It’s a different perspective.”

But on other matters, Cashman said he’s taking a “wait and see” approach, though he’s not too worried.

“I’m pragmatic,” he added. “America is resilient. It can take almost anything. … I think this could be OK.”

Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com.