Turning to Trump
After Donald Trump’s election, The Dispatch visited Trump supporters to ask: Do they still support him? How do they assess his work as president? “Turning to Trump” has been a monthly series exploring those questions in four distinct areas of central Ohio that swung from Democrat Barack Obama in 2012 to the Republican Trump in 2016. The series wraps up now, a year after Trump was elected. Clinton. But he said he would have been more inclined to support Trump.
Now, a year later, “Trump, honestly, he shouldn’t be president. We need someone who is going to do something for the people,” he said. “Trump is more of a socialmedia actor than a president. If he’d focus more on reallife issues instead of social media, things would be a whole lot different.”
Rebecca Brown cuts hair in Obetz. She said that patrons don’t talk much politics, but did say that many discussions lately have centered on the potential of the United States going to war. Trump has repeatedly referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “little rocket man.”
“He is the most immature president we have ever had,” Brown said. She also questioned why he has avoided trouble for accusations against him of sexual harassment, though others in politics, news and entertainment have been fired or resigned.
“And the stuff that he tweets,” Brown added. “He’s like a little high-school student with power.”
In Chillicothe, Marvin Crank is getting impatient, particularly over immigration.
Undocumented immigrants are stealing American jobs, Crank says, though he added that too many Americans are “too damn lazy to work” and prefer government handouts.
His ire is largely directed at Congress — both Republicans and Democrats — for failing to move on large parts of Trump’s agenda.
“They are not willing to do anything,” Crank said. “They’re just fighting back and forth and don’t get anything done. They won’t let Trump do anything.”
Crank, 65, a retired maintenance worker at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center near Chillicothe, is an independent who liked Trump’s promises of shaking up the federal government.
Crank is keeping a wary eye on the GOP tax-cut plan awaiting a conference committee resolution in Congress.
“The little guy needs it. The big ones don’t. We’re the ones out here struggling. It better not be money for the rich.”
In Marion, Jodi Harville, owner and barber at Golden Touch Barber and Beauty, said people aren’t talking as much about politics.
“I would say more during the election,” Harville said. “There is a lot more talk
about insurance now.”
By that, Harville means health insurance. “In our shop, people don’t like Obamacare,” she said.
Asked whether things had become contentious in the era of Trump, she said, “I don’t see a lot of argument. In our town and in our shop, most people are Republicans.”
But Harville added that in her experience, people just aren’t looking to argue.
“I think a lot of people are cautious,” she said. “They kind of feel each other out.”
Back in Hebron, Hunter said people need to give Trump a chance to succeed. She is confident that Trump can handle North Korea and other problems that come his way.
Still, she has had friends block her on Facebook because of pro-Trump posts and recently fumed after someone in her dentist’s office wished her “Happy Holidays.”
“I turned around and said ‘Merry Christmas,’ “she said. “I just can’t help it.”