Trump gambles on his popularity
President still a big draw for many, but moderates in GOP remain cool
When President Donald Trump touched down in Arizona on Thursday, the aim was to bring a boost of energy to his supporters.
A 50-year-old woman in Surprise is planning to travel more than 60 miles each way to attend her firstever political rally today. A man in west Phoenix is organizing motorcycle enthusiasts for a mass ride to the airport where the president will speak.
But not everybody will celebrate Trump’s presence.
One prominent Phoenix attorney, a lifelong Republican, has decided to support Democrats running for Congress. A north Phoenix woman who isn’t registered with either party, and who has taken to participating in weekly protests of Trump, fears his visit could stir hostility.
Trump’s visit is designed to buoy U.S. Rep. Martha McSally’s bid for a U.S. Senate seat.
Kevin DeMenna, a longtime politicalaffairs consultant, said presidential visits don’t happen on a whim. He figures McSally’s campaign believes the visit is necessary to boost the turnout of Trump devotees who haven’t quite warmed to her even at the risk of further alienating, and possibly losing, women voters.
“It’s always a risk,” he said, later adding, “They’ve made that call. I would trust their data.”
Anne Kleindienst comes from bona fide Republican stock in Arizona. She served as a precinct committeewoman for 30 years and donated reliably to Republican campaigns.
That was until this year, when she offered her support and time to the Democratic campaigns of U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema for the U.S. Senate and former Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton for the U.S. House seat in her district.
“The president is a threat to national security and our democracy,” said Kleindienst, a 64-year-old attorney. “Republicans in Congress are not doing their job. They’re not doing what they should to protect our country.”
She said she decided to step down as precinct committeewoman to vote her conscience.
She still is registered as a Republican and still considers herself a conservative. She said she expects to vote for Republicans in statewide and legislative races.
Because in those races, she said, there’s no threat to the country.
Kleindienst said she knows firsthand the importance of such a check on power. Her father, Richard Kleindienst, served as attorney general under Richard Nixon as the Watergate scandal unfolded.
“It’s a very unusual situation we find ourselves in,” Kleindienst said. “I do hope women, in particular, will stand up and make a difference, because we’ve got to make some changes here.”
Michelle Miano, meanwhile, likes the changes Trump has made during his presidency. She plans to trek from her suburb northwest of Phoenix to the airport in Mesa where will Trump will hold his rally tonight, a round trip of more than 120 miles.
Miano admitted that her enthusiasm for McSally could use a boost.
She originally supported Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County sheriff, for the open Senate seat. She also liked former state lawmaker Kelli Ward, the other candidate in the Republican primary. McSally beat them both to become the nominee.
“Those were the only ones we were rooting for,” Miano said. “Now, we have no other choice.”
Before 2016, Miano said she hadn’t voted in a presidential election since 1992, when she cast a vote for Bill Clinton. Her 50-year-old husband had never voted.
But the couple started watching Trump during the debates. In those, they saw the same person they got to know watching “The Apprentice” on NBC: An affable businessman who seemed to have an intuitive sense for reading people.
Trump spoke in plain, blunt language that alarmed some pundits and Democrats, making it all the more enjoyable to the Mianos.
“He thinks like we do, the American people,” Miano said. “He’s just made (politics) more exciting to watch. All these years, we never turned on anyone else’s debate and now we’re watching him wherever he goes.”
This year, the policy debate over health care became personal for the Mianos. Gary Miano was bitten by a dog in December. Months later, with his eyesight failing, tests revealed that the bite had infected him with a rare parasite that caused his brain to swell, Michelle Miano said.
It was also the year the couple decided to stop getting health insurance through Miano’s employer, Kmart, figuring the higher premiums were not worth it.
The couple maxed out credit cards to pay the medical bills. They have skipped house payments and fear foreclosure.
Miano said she trusted Trump to sort out the nation’s health care. She also hoped for an improving economy that would let her find another full-time job. So far, she said, she can find only parttime employment.
Miano watched McSally debate her Democratic opponent U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema on Monday and warmed to the candidate.
“We were happy she was standing up for her beliefs and all that stuff,” she said.
She also expects McSally to help Trump continue his agenda.
“We have our kids and grandkids to think about,” she said. “It’s unfortunate if we let the other side take over.”
Rita Audisio, 70, of north Phoenix, also worries about her kids, which is why she says she joined the Women’s March the day after Trump’s inauguration. It was the first political protest for Audisio, an independent who has voted for a mix of Republicans and Democrats.
She since joined a group called Indivisible that stands along Camelback Road every Tuesday to protest Trump.
Audisio said she thinks Trump’s visit will help McSally appeal to the president’s devotees. But she said it would have the opposite effect for someone like her, who might consider voting for a moderate Republican.
“I think it puts them in a difficult position,” she said. “If you’re a moderate Republican, he’s not so wonderful.”
Audisio said she does not plan to attend the Mesa rally. She said she fears Trump’s visit might spark violent clashes between supporters and protesters. Trump’s August 2017 rally in downtown Phoenix ended with police deploying tear gas to disperse crowd members, some of whom were throwing objects.
“He seems to inflame both his base and others who protest and don’t like his policies,” she said. “Then they get excited and we have chaos and that’s not helpful for anyone.”
Jim Williams, 65, a welder who lives in Maryvale, shows up to try to keep the peace at the rallies. Williams organizes a group of motorcycle riders who travel together to rallies and help police the grounds.
“People feel more comfortable when bikers show up,” he said. “We have people outside making sure protesters don’t harass the eventgoers. We’re out there to help people feel safe.”
Williams said he understands the need for Trump’s visit. He said some of his fellow Republicans have been slow to warm to McSally.
“McSally wasn’t a supporter of Trump until she decided to run for the Senate,” he said. “All of a sudden, they’re best friends.”
Williams said other politicians have followed the same script: not supporting Trump until they saw a political upside to it.
“I don’t trust them, I guess, is what I’m saying,” he said.
Most in his circle figure they must hold their nose to vote for McSally. Williams wasn’t sure whether Trump’s rally would change the feeling.
“Martha is the nominee,” he said. “So, that’s what we got.”