Danbury grandmother: Trump ‘loves America’
Editor’s note: The following is part of a Hearst Connecticut series profiling supporters of President Donald Trump and Presidentelect Joe Biden and the issues they care about as the country heads toward a presidential transition.
DANBURY – Margaret Curran will have you know there’s nothing complicated about her politics.
A mother of eight and a grandmother of 16 who lives in the same house she built with her husband 47 years ago, Curran has always considered herself a small-town girl who grew up with old-fashioned parents around old-school people.
That’s why at 73 years old, Curran can’t understand the vitriol people express for the 45th president of the United States.
“Some of my good friends on social media just lambaste anyone who would think of supporting Trump. Some of them do it with such vile words – and these are my friends from church,” Curran said during a rainy autumn morning in her Danbury home on the west end. “I would never talk about people they support in such vile terms.”
Curran makes an exception for the demeanor of President Trump himself, however, who Curran says is no worse than Democrats such as President Lyndon Johnson.
“Granted, (Trump) comes across very abrupt and crass at times,” Curran said, as the pendulum of a grandfather clock gently rocked in the corner. “It’s not my way of speaking, but I’m not going to condemn it and say that all the good he did is no good now, because of how he speaks.”
The good thing about being old-school, Curran says, is the most important things in life don’t change with the winds of circumstance. Love of country and the primacy of the family are not only values from Curran’s childhood that made American great, but values that she trusts will carry the country through the next presidency after Jan. 20.
“The president loves America – that’s number one in my book,” says Curran. “I’m just a small-town girl who is grateful to live here.”
As such, Curran says, the top priorities for the nation as it turns the corner on a treacherous 2020 is to respect the Constitution, to open the economy, and to return kids to stability and the structure their classrooms.
Curran spoke about her support for Trump and her hopes for the country last week as the nation adjusted to the unofficial results of the Nov. 3 election.
Democrat Joe Biden, the projected winner, established a coronavirus task force and began work on his transition to power in 2021, as Trump disputed the election results.
Late last week, a federal agency in charge of election protection efforts issued a statement that called the Nov. 3 election “the most secure in American history.”
“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too,” said the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way
compromised.”
Small-town girl
To understand the origins of Curran’s resiliency and gratitude means going back to post war Trumbull, where she was the middle child in a home with no television. Her father worked in the Post Office and her mother was a substitute teacher.
“We all grew up poor, but we never thought we were poor,” said Curran, who went on to earn an undergraduate degree at what is now Western Connecticut State University, and a master’s degree in religious studies from Sacred Heart University. “We grew our own food, we hung out of trees, we walked to school, we were blessed.”
Curran counters the concerns about institutional racism in the headlines with scenes of carefree harmony with Black children in her neighborhood. Raising a big family in culturally diverse Danbury, Curran says she fails to see the racial strife that has divided some communities recently over law enforcement’s treatment of people of color.
“We never thought about any of that at all,” Curran says.
Nor does Curran see why Trump’s critics accuse him of instigating division. On the contrary, what endeared Curran to Trump when he was a businessman was Trump’s quiet acts of kindness after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks – especially to firefighters.
Curran’s husband of 53 years, Phil, is a retired career Danbury firefighter and a former acting chief.
“I just always liked (Trump) and I voted for him in 2016 because of what I felt about him,” said Curran, who served as director of religious education at two parishes. “My support for him has grown because of all the good he has done as president. Whether he is as good as Reagan or not, I don’t know.”
All Curran knows is the strength of the country depends on the strength of the family, she says. Once unity is established in the family, she says, solidarity will follow across the country, like one of the many framed family portraits hung in her kitchen and dining room.
“Surround with the people you love who love you – your family,” Curran said. “God made us all a family.”
Curran stressed that strong families don’t give up on each other just because they don’t all support the president.
“Within my family we have two Trump (critics) but we are always very cordial,” Curran said. “We don’t discuss the subject, and they are very gracious when they come to the house.”