Erstellt am: 20. 1. 2017 - 16:36 Uhr

I Voted for Trump

It's happening. Donald Trump is President of the United States. We spoke to someone who voted for him.

Steve Feith is the married father of two young girls, he's been in the human resources industry for over 20 years, lives in Southern California, and voted for Donald Trump.

I felt like it would be cool for FM4 to get the perspective from a Trump voter and Steve was more than willing to give it. I had an easy-going exchange with him, punctuated by laughs and genuine sympathy, on both sides, so to speak.

The conversation started with me asking Steve what he expected of the man he voted into the White House in the first 100 days of his presidency.

Zazzle Paper/AmazingVision

Steve Feith: Quite frankly I don’t expect a whole lot simply because I think with any job, especially this role, you’ve got to navigate and kind of find your way
In those first hundred days. I do hope though that he sticks very close to the issues that he ran on, jobs being one of them. I think this was a very personal election and you can’t get more personal than your job and your income and providing for your family and paying for your bills. Also, national security is an issue and of course, immigration. I’d say, those three things, if he can stay focused on those and not get pulled off in a number of different directions, then I think that would be a very good start for the first hundred days.

Riem Higazi: I think you might have already answered my next question but I’ll pose it anyways, what was it about Trump that made you say, yeah! I’m voting for him!

Interestingly, I did not vote for him in the primary elections…so, when deciding who would ultimately go and represent the Republicans. Keep in mind also I’m in California so my vote, I don’t want to say didn’t count, but by a 2 million vote margin, Hillary Clinton won the general election, at least, here in California. However having said that, it was less initially about him and more about what I felt she didn’t offer.

However, having said that, if you look at just him as a candidate, I know many people said that he did not have political experience…he did not ever hold public office but, you know, I’ve read his book “The Art of the Deal” and in order to be able to navigate the political world of New York which is heavily regulated and he was doing this with the aim of building his real estate business, that is no small task to be able to do that and be able to do it successfully. So, he’s rubbed shoulders in that sense with the political world, he’s just never served and so I thought this might be someone who has proven he’s been able to build things and accomplish things.

Well, some would argue that he really wasn’t that successful with the bankruptcies. But, do you have any concerns about healthcare and foreign policy?

Yeah-so, on the healthcare issue, I have less concerns this time around than I did six years ago under the Obama administration. I felt kind of, in a very non-bipartisan approach, they rammed healthcare through. I think they felt that they had only this one opportunity to do it and as a result, the way the voting came down in Congress, where not a single Republican voted for it, it didn’t seem like a very collaborative approach. I’m hoping this time around, they do sit down and when they decide if they do choose to repeal it and then ultimately replace it, then on the replace side, that there is more buy-in on both sides.

On the foreign policy side of things, I know some would argue that Trump has an isolationist approach. I don’t get overly concerned about that. What I do get more concerned about is that if America is relied upon to resolve issues in the world, that we do try to get more buy-in from other countries. Not only buy-in but also ownership, that others have to help carry the load when it comes to dealing with issues whether it be issues of civil war or what have you. Where we’re not just going it alone.

At the same time though, I know President Obama used the term ‘leading from behind’…I think we need to do more than just lead from behind. We have to be in the middle of it but not necessarily the only country putting up the treasure and also if you look at the war in Iraq (which I think was a mistake even though I voted for George Bush at the cost of nearly 5 thousand American lives) at the end, looking back, what did it really truly accomplish?

AFP

Demonstrators protest against US President-elect Donald Trump before his inauguration on January 20, 2017, in Washington, DC

How do you feel about the backlash and the unprecedented way so many people have been and will continue to mobilise against the man you voted for?

It’s a pretty normal reaction from the left, not a normal reaction from the right. I mean when President Obama was elected, I was, I guess you’d say disappointed. There were a number of pocketbook issues that I thought would directly impact me. My reaction was to get up the next day and get on with my life and live my life, you know what I mean? And so, I guess you’d call it maybe partially the stages of grief people have gone through and now they’re in the anger phase. I think, eventually people will work through that and they will realise it’s not as bad as the press is making it out to be and that eventually the administration will find its footing and we’ll be able to make progress.

I think most importantly, with the example of healthcare, is something that includes both parties and ultimately all Americans. So, you’re right. It has been an unbelievably - I hate to use the term hysterical - but it’s been a bit of a hysterical reaction. I think people have to be allowed to work through that. He’s a bit of a polarising character but I think over time, people will eventually find their way. Most importantly issues like jobs and issues that relate to them personally will begin to work out positively I think for all.

Speaking of personal and forgive me if this is too personal but I’m curious. You’re the dad of two young girls and Trump is renown for being a sexist person. Does that in any way, shape, or form, bother you? He’s a role model, the President of the United States is someone who children look up to and his view of women doesn’t seem to be the same as his view of men by which I mean that he thinks women are less worth.

I’m also the youngest of eight boys and I know some of the things that were aired did not make the best press for him but I can very candidly say I don’t endorse or support those behaviours but there are also times when my brothers and I are on the golf course that I surely would not want what I’ve said just amongst my brothers to be aired. I think sometimes these things are cherry-picked and taken out of context…

Well, it’s not just about the sound bite, it’s about the attitude.

Sure, yeah.

It wasn’t just that one isolated sound bite either. If I was fortunate enough to have children and fortunate enough to have daughters, having someone like Donald Trump be the President of the United States would bother the hell out of me.

Sure. I understand that. I am sometimes surprised that the same level of anger is not also equally shown to the ‘Bill Clintons’. My attitude is hey! Absolutely! I’m not one to brush bad behaviour under the carpet and my wife actually holds me to that when it comes to the example I set for my daughters and you’re absolutely right. I’m not going to whitewash something but I think we should always try to raise the level of standards, both personally and our public servants as well across the board. I think you make a good point. Was it enough to make me not vote for him? Probably not.

Obviously not.

If it gets him in trouble, I say, and I voted for him, I say, hold his feet to the fire, as I would any politician.