A group of 10 Florida voters answered a call by the Palm Beach Post to discuss why they chose to vote for Donald Trump during the 2016 election.
"We had put out an appeal to Trump voters to speak to us. More than 200 replied," the Post wrote. "Though we didn't get the racial or ethnic diversity we would have liked, we narrowed the group to a manageable size to hear from voters who said that they had been largely ignored during the long presidential campaign."
The participants, Republicans, Independents and one Democrat, opened an hourlong discussion by describing the president-elect in one word. "Maverick," "change," "doer," "different," smart," "enterprise" and "America" were among the replies.
Most of the participants said they decided to be a part of the discussion because they believe mainstream media didn't do their candidate justice.
"During the campaign, I found that the mainstream media was so one-sided that I just couldn’t believe it," said Michael Harvey, 66, of Boynton Beach.
Alan Huber, 59, of Boynton Beach, said he was tired of the mainstream media portraying "anybody who was against Barack Obama's policies (as) a racist or Donald Trump (as) a racist."
"We don't have horns. We're not racists. We're actually among the most informed people there are," Huber said.
They expressed deep concerns about jobs leaving America, illegal immigration and Obamacare. And they said they had great confidence that Trump would make inroads in these areas, and others where other political leaders have failed.
They said they weren't disturbed that Trump is shifting on some of his campaign promises, including the border wall that's now perhaps a fence, the 11 million deportations that might not occur and the reluctance to prosecute "crooked Hillary." They view Trump as a master negotiator and his boldest campaign statements as opening gambits: he'll attain his goals, even if it takes some modifications from his initial positions to get there.
"He's the fastest learner I've ever seen in my life," said Lee Roggenburg, 58, a financial adviser from Boca Raton.
"Donald Trump is going to run the country the way we need to run our businesses or our households," said Patrice Boyland, 54, a self-described stay-at-home mom from Palm Beach Gardens. "In government, when something fails, they put more money towards it. He's looking at things differently, on how to fix it -- and it's not always adding more money to the problem."
The group, a small portion of Trump supporters, made it clear that Trump will enter the White House with a great deal of political strength via a big chunk of the American public that's eager for him to shake things up and trusts in whatever surprises he springs on the political and media establishment.
Watch the full interview below.
About the Author
