Posts
In one short week in the White House, Donald Trump has managed to shatter the tradition of the honeymoon period enjoyed by new presidents. While predecessors eased themselves into the role and were showered with national adulation, he has prompted widespread criticism with a stream of provocations.
Trump has proclaimed war on the media, was accused of serial lying, declared open season on environmentalists and undocumented immigrants, outraged the Mexican president, begun stripping millions of Americans of healthcare coverage, and revived the prospect of torturing terror suspects. The pugilism of his pronouncements has left even Trump-hardened observers aghast, prompting speculation that such an adrenalin-charged opening to his term couldn’t possibly be sustained.
Tell that to the people of Macomb County in Michigan.
“Thank the Lord for Donald Trump!” exclaimed the waitress in Angelo’s diner when asked how she thought he was doing. “He’s awesome, he’s great,” said the car worker. “I absolutely love him,” the window cleaner said. “I’m 100% for Trump,” the pawn shop owner said.
Even for a country as accustomed to division as the United States, the split perception of Trump’s first week in office could not be more worlds apart. On the one hand, there is Trump as seen through the lens of the coastal mainstream media that has called him out with historic bluntness, epitomized by the lead story of the New York Times: Trump Repeats Lie About Popular Vote.
Then there is how residents of Macomb County, an overwhelmingly white working-class suburb of Detroit, see their new commander-in-chief. It is as if all the raging controversy of the week had somehow washed off him on the 600-mile journey from Washington to Michigan, leaving a cleansed and beatific Trump committed to creating jobs and putting America first.
Niel Redmond, 54, a mechanic who in 2012 voted for Barack Obama but this time went for Trump, said: “I think he’s doing a phenomenal job.”
Redmond was unaware of the critical coverage that has saturated newspaper front pages and cable news reports since inauguration day. “Papers? I’ve no idea what they are talking about – I don’t see them. If it don’t put a dime in my pocket, I don’t worry about it.”
No comments:
Post a Comment