I headed out with fellow intern Dan to the pedestrian area just in front of the White House in search of people’s feelings on a Donald Trump presidency. We scoured the area looking for people we thought would have the strongest opinions on the presumptive Republican nominee.
While we were met with some rejection, several people allowed us to talk to them and take their picture. I made sure to get the White House in the background of every picture to prove we were really there.
We didn’t come across any ardent supporters, but as expected, we found a few in strong opposition.
Naturally, we started out with the people donning pro-Obama signs to find out how they felt about the businessman.
Catherine and Jonathan Tuerk
Jonathan: “I am appalled so many people in this country like him. He’s a racist. And it is also to me appalling the spinelessness in our electorate body that they still say they will support him and vote for him, that they don’t have the courage to say that they cannot tolerate this kind of person. He should be fired.”
Catherine: “He brings out the worst in us, which is really sad as an American. It’s like he gave people permission to say horrible things to us, and there were times when he first started ranting and raving that we felt actually threatened by people. Men came up. And even though we have these ways of diffusing things because we say ‘we’re not here to fight, it’s a democracy’, they didn’t give up. They were making fun of us, ridiculing us, calling us names.”
Next, our journey took us to a young group who expressed their concerns of Trump. They were visibly holding back some of their opinions, and Dan had to probe them for an answer.
From left to right: Elise Rodriguez, Lex Grems, Jeff Wenger, Maria O’Carroll.
Jeff: “I feel like something bad would happen.”
Elise (black shirt): “We’ll probably end up in another war.”
After a few rejections from people we wished would talk to us, we found Ken across the street.
Ken Miller
Ken: “He says too many things that are wrong.”
Me: What do you think would happen with a President Trump?
Ken: “I don’t think he’ll ever make it there.”
How can you not interview somebody rocking red, white and blue by the White House? This is as American as it gets. It should be noted though that his wife didn’t really like that he gave us his “personal information,” meaning his name.
John Bartholomew
John: “I would have no clue what it’s going to be like, crazy. I have no idea what he’s going to do. I would have no clue. I’m sure it’ll be interesting and different.”
Marc Kroon was appealing, but mostly because of his dog. However, we found out he’s from Holland and is currently living in Florida. That’s a great combo for talking about Trump right there, foreigner and Floridian.
Marc Kroon
Marc: “I feel like in Europe people talk about him more negatively than here. Especially in Florida, a lot of people are big fans of him because he’s a Republican and a lot of people there are Republican. So the people around me in Florida, like my friends and stuff, are probably going to vote for Trump. It’s not my country, so I’m not voting. If I could vote, I honestly wouldn’t know who I would vote for because I’m not a big fan of Hillary but I’m also not a big fan of Trump.”
Our penultimate interview occurrednext to a protest tent. The guy inside refused to give us an interview earlier for some reason I didn’t understand, but this guy gladly yapped.
Shawn O’Brien
Shawn: “He has casinos and they’re probably incredible. I’m sure it would be a lot of relying on his secretaries. Well he knows how to manage money, that’s about it. I don’t really keep up with it.”
Our last subject labeled himself a walking preacher. He told us that he’s been on TV and has been mentioned in the media many times. Although he was more interested in discussing the demise of religion in the United States than Trump, we found out what matters to him in politics.
Neal Thompson, “like seal, deal and real”
Neal: “I don’t worry about the person. I vote for what they believe in. That’s how I vote.”
Me: “Do you have any thoughts about what would happen under a Trump presidency?”
Neal: “Hopefully things would get better.”
Me: Do you think they would?
Neal: “Oh yeah. Our President here was supposed to be a Christian, but he sure ain’t acting like one. We’re all sinners, and we all fall short of that perfect and holy. Even the best of us fall sometimes. I know he shouldn’t talk the way he talks sometimes in the way he cuts down certain people, Mexicans, women, or whatever it may be. I believe this is supposed to be a Christian country.”
Me: Do you think Trump more so than Hillary would make it more of a Christian country?
Neal: “Yes sir.”