In the postscript to the 2016 US election, the inability of pollsters to gauge Donald Trump’s support in key swing states, from Florida through the rust belt to Michigan and Wisconsin, is being widely studied.
Who were these “underground” Trump voters? Were they ignored? Did they hide themselves in plain sight? The same – discredited – pollsters now say white women carried Trump to victory. But it was more than that. In North Carolina, with its rapidly changing demographics, the polls predicted a tight race. The candidates visited the state almost 30 times, each fishing for the state’s 15 electoral college votes. In her final campaign rally on the eve of Tuesday’s vote, Clinton was on stage there with Lady Gaga. Twenty-four hours later, she learned she had lost the state to Trump by four points, 51%-47% – a loss that did not guarantee his victory nationally, but strongly suggested it.
Since the result last week, many Americans who kept their Trump support private have began to reveal themselves. As with the Brexit referendum vote, the decision has caused familial rifts. Here, North Carolinian voters explain their decision-making.
James Morrison, 25
I was freaked out about Hillary because there were 33,000 emails that we’ll never know what was in there. To not let the FBI review them after you’d been subpoenaed? That’s a huge concern for me. I voted for Obama because he wanted to bring change and unity. Hillary was more talk than walk and more transparency would have been good. I have a lot of friends who voted for Hillary. If she’d kept Sanders I’d have been more inclined to go toward her, but I liked Trump on trade because it’s true we’re losing a lot of jobs to China.
Tracy Guthrie, 47
Trump was not my first pick but I’m from a military family and I don’t believe Hillary Clinton had any respect for the military. Any military person who destroys emails and lies about it would be buried underneath the jail. Trump was disgusting because of what he said about women, but he was the lesser of two evils. I don’t think everybody should be deported. I’m not homophobic, I’m not racist. I’m pro-military, and I don’t believe she is. We need a strong military because we live in crazy world.
Tova Mandissa, 43
Clinton was in the chair too long. She knows her way around truth. But Trump is a self-made man. You don’t have to be a politician to be a president, you just have to know how to better yourself. I’ve seen those TV shows – The Apprentice – and he was good with African-Americans and we need a very strong man. I like to see who someone is. You are who you are. At least he’s not the kind of person to get in the White House as one thing and then – boom – here’s who I really am. I know who he is up front. Plus they were not going to treat her right as a woman, they weren’t going to treat her fairly.
Louis Coletta, 78
I’m a small businessman and Obama never did anything for small business except tie us up in red tape. He offered hope and change, but it wasn’t change for the better, at least not for business people. The south has traditionally been very poor. The Democrats offered something for free. But I don’t want something for free. My granddad was an immigrant from Italy. His ice-cream business is now third generation. I think a man’s a fool if he has his own business and he’s a Democrat. Trump appeals to me because I think he’s going to shake things up. Everybody’s ready for change.
Scott Sandlin, 49
Trump wasn’t worried about speaking his mind. Sure he flip-flops a lot, but he was talking about the working man and bringing back jobs. He’s not a politician, got his own money so he really can’t be bought. We’d seen enough dirt on Bill and Hillary. It seemed like an old story and we needed a change. I think he’s going to shake it up. I like it when he said it was time for Republicans and Democrats to work together, to bring America back to where it was before – great. I don’t make enough from a 10-bucks-an-hour job to pay for health insurance. But I have to admit to you what my grandmother said: “When the Clintons were in before, times were great.” But times they are a-changin’, the old Bob Dylan thing.
Michael, 29
I usually vote independent. But this time I voted Trump because things ain’t working. The economy hadn’t bounced back like they wanted it to. My wife and I, we struggle. I like Trump’s business sense. He could get rid of the fraud and unnecessary expense. Hillary Clinton had a lot of experience but it wasn’t all good experience. Her trustworthy stuff was big for me. The investigations and FBI stuff might be normal for a lot of politicians, but it wasn’t normal or appropriate for me. Trump’s a businessman. It doesn’t bother me he went into bankruptcy. Not every idea can be a great idea and he climbed out of that hole.
