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Americans weigh in on Trump…so far

If Gary Bochner could go back in time, he’d do November differently.

Bochner, 58, who voted for Donald Trump says that he would vote for another candidate. Bochner says that seeing that President Trump has not done any of the things he promised and has even made enemies with many world leaders, he is rethinking his vote.

“At the time, I was unemployed and the idea that he was going to ‘Make America Great Again’ and give jobs back to Americans really appealed to me,” Bochner said.

Sarah Yu said she is feeling frustrated and angry about the Trump Administration. By Vicky Tan

As President Trump nears the six month mark of his time in office, his approval ratings continue to drop, even those like Bochner who voted for him in the 2016 election are unhappy with how he has used his power so far.

According to the Gallup Daily, only 39 percent of Americans support the Trump Administration.

Among other District of Columbia residents, many believe that the Trump Administration is actually hurting the country.

Interviews done this week at American University and in Dupont Circle showed that many people had a range of issues they said were important. Those included: the environment, tax reform, relations with other nations, immigration policy reform and improving healthcare.

Eric Pullman, 17, said that Trump has disappointed the country in how he’s handled all of those substantial issues. And, Pullman said, he thinks racism also has gotten worse.

“His drastic actions hurt us all as Americans,” Pullman said. “This is not what we stand for. If Trump is to win a second term in office, I am not sure the county will be able to bounce back from it. The United States has become a laughing stock.”

As a Jewish-American living in the Bible Belt of the United States, Pullman has grown accustomed to weird looks.

“I am proud of my religion,” said Pullman, who is from Alabama, and was visiting Washington, D.C. to visit colleges. “Their stares cannot hurt me. I will not be ashamed of who I am.”

However, for Pullman’s Muslim neighbors, it is not just stares. He says that since Trump has taken office, discrimination has gotten worse.

“Their eldest daughter and I will sometimes walk to school together. One morning, somebody rode by on a bike and pulled off her hijab while yelling about how Trump would make America great again. As a Jewish-American, I feel the need to stand against actions like this,” Pullman said.

 

 

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D.C. residents’ powerful reaction to travel ban decision

Protestors oppose president Trump’s travel ban. Photo by Masha George

Many Washington, D.C. residents and students interviewed in the days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parts of Donald Trump’s travel ban can remain intact, believed it would create a negative impact on the United States.

According to the ACLU, the revised travel ban forbids the residents of six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States unless they fit certain criteria.

Trump issued his original travel ban on Jan. 27, which, after much debate, was eventually blocked. While the original travel ban was in effect, thousands protested the ban nationwide, especially in airports.

Even after the revisions, which allows people in special circumstances to be exempt from the ban, many citizens of the United States have strong emotions concerning the travel ban.

“America is supposed to be the Land of Opportunity and I very disagree with the travel ban. I don’t think that all Muslims are bad people, I have friends who are Muslims, I work with people who are Muslims, they are not all terrorists,” said April Spence, 34, of Woodbridge, Virginia.

Other arguments for why the revised travel ban will negatively affect the United States also included that the United States is a nation of immigrants, and so the citizens of the United States cannot discriminate against and ban people solely based on their religion.

Furthermore, people argued that people of most religions are part of terrorist groups and many Muslims are not part of a terrorist group. In fact, the FBI found that 94 percent of terrorist attacks that occurred in the United States from 1980 to 2005 were not by Muslims.

Everyone interviewed June 29 and June 30 in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. and the American University campus believed that this travel ban was discriminatory, but one person was also in favor of the revised travel ban for security.

Often, the people in favor of the travel ban argued that terrorism does exist in the countries that fall under the ban. So, by banning residents from those countries inherently, they say, security will improve.

“I am sure that there is good reason to put it into place, and I’m sure there will be, as a side effect of the whole thing, a certain amount of discrimination that takes place, and that is unfortunate,” said Beth Cash, 54, of Cleveland, Ohio.

“But if that’s what needs to happen to keep us safe, then I think some of us are just going to have to live with that,” said Cash. According to a recent POLITICO/Morning poll, Beth Cash is one of many supporters of this revised travel ban, as the poll found that 60% of Americans support it.

Many people interviewed also believe that this travel ban will go beyond just damaging the United States domestically, but will also affect its international relations.

“I think it’s already had a very negative impact,” said David Sarokin, 65, of Washington, D.C. “The mere fact of even proposing a ban like that, based on religion and based on no good national security reason, has done a lot of damage to our reputation as a free and open country.”