R Sign of the times
Why are so many Americans proudly displaying their allegiance to President Trump?
UFFS DALE, Pa. —
Hunched over in his workshop, Leon Moyer slices through a board with a miter saw, its hum piercing the air. It’s the sound of business for Moyer, who has run a sign making company in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, since 1984.
A few feet away lies a stack of signs blaring “President Donald Trump” and a pile of bumper stickers bearing the legend “CNN Sucks.” Almost a year after America sent The Donald to the White House, Moyer is still selling pro-Trump signage. Homes and businesses all over this county, which is mostly registered Democrat, continue to declare their allegiance to the Republican outsider.
“Last year, when people were asking me to make [signs] for them, I was fairly surprised. Republican political signs really aren’t a big thing for me, and, well, this is a big Democrat area. The signs were everywhere, and everyone wanted one.”
So far, Moyer estimates he’s sold “thousands” of pro-Trump signs.
How many people ordered signs for Hillary?
“One. That would be one person. Which kind of surprised me given how Democratic this area is,” he said. Moyer said he had requests for oversized Trump signs, small ones, individualized ones: “You name it, people were asking for them.”
“They still ask for them,” he added. “Not much has changed in the sentiments here for Trump.”
That includes his own. Moyer, too, is a registered Democrat who voted for Trump — and yes, he is still optimistic about his presidency.
Trump is facing serious challenges right now: hemorrhaging staff, the Russia investigation, North Korea’s aggression, a failure to initially condemn neo-Nazis for a woman’s death at a protest and an inability, so far, to fix ObamaCare have all led to heightened criticism. He is yet to move the needle on meaningful tax reform or infrastructure spending — his two key platforms. He continues to shoot himself in the foot with insulting tweets aimed at members of his own party. In July, The Washington Post dubbed him a lameduck president.
A new poll from NBC News/ Marist showed that Trump’s job-approval rating here in Pennsylvania, as well as in Michigan and Wisconsin, the three key states that helped propel him to the White House, is below 40 percentage points. But not approving of everything the president does doesn’t mean his voters have stopped supporting him. It is important to note that nearly 100,000 voters in this state switched their party registration from Democratic to Republican in 2016. This trending away from Democratic presidential candidates in Pennsylvania started years ago: In 1996, Bill Clinton won 28 of the state’s 67 counties; in 2012, Barack Obama won just 13. Overall, the Republican Party has gained 100,000 new registered voters in Pennsylvania, knocking the Democrats’ lead of 913,017 down to 808,974. That number includes 31,000 new registered Republicans in Philadelphia. Yes, Philadelphia. Last year, pollsters were convinced Pennsylvania would swing blue. Evi- dence of Trump signs — the kind of placards made by Moyer, which dotted rural counties all over the state — was dismissed as anecdotal, not proper scientific data. But Trump’s victory upended that narrative.
Is this switch in party affiliation another sign the polls are missing? Hard to say for certain. But you would think this time it should not be ignored. “I suppose the best way to sum this up is that [with] voters on both sides, sentiments have not shifted, but the resentment towards each other has. Our misunderstanding of each other has deepened,” said Moyer.
In the past few months, a CNN producer and a “Scandal” star have called people who voted for Trump “stupid.” Their contempt has registered with voters in this part of the country, and it has only served to escalate their commitment to the president.
Despite his flaws, Trump voters are waving the flag for their underdog candidate in a show of defiance. Many don’t think he is on the ropes, and they believe he will eventually get results. Customers are still coming into Moyer’s shop, requesting proTrump signs for the first time, wanting to show their support. They want to send a message: The establishment may hate the president, but his voters have got his back.
Yes, the president can be his own worst enemy. Yes, at times he doesn’t express himself as properly and powerfully as he should. But the story of 2016 has always been about the people — not him.
The same is true of 2017. Trump voters aren’t just changing their party allegiance, they’re crystallizing a new identity: as common-sense Americans bound together against seemingly hostile liberals who appear to disdain their way of life.
And the Democrats have done nothing to win over these voters, nothing.