Many supporters of Barack Obama made a similar argument during his presidency, when congressional Republicans announced early on that stopping Obama was their No. 1 goal.
So local residents had a variety of opinions Friday on whether Trump would follow through on his promise Friday of “an oath of allegiance to all Americans,” and whether American citizens of different ideologies, races and generations would be willing to work together.
Stamps said extreme partisans on both sides are unlikely to change, but “for a lot of the more open-minded people, when he starts to be successful, they’re going to come around.”
Jim Keller of Maria Stein said after watching Trump’s speech that he hopes the president is successful in bringing the country together. But he said Trump has not laid the groundwork for that effort.
“He really badmouthed all of his predecessors, whether that was just Mr. Obama, or Mr. Bush prior to that, or Mr. Clinton prior to that,” Keller said. “I don’t see that as uniting language.”
Dana Stamps, Eric’s father, said Trump’s frequent attacks of his critics on Twitter were justified, adding that there’s no way to truly unite everybody.
“Most of the people he’s firing back at ignoramuses. They don’t know what the Sam Hill they’re talking about,” Dana Stamps said. “What you do is try to figure out what’s best for the country. That’s what Trump’s doing. And he’s hoping that in doing that, it’s really going to benefit all, so in spite of their ignorance, it’s going to benefit them.”
That’s the kind of statement Carol Miller of Riverside said she dislikes hearing from Trump.
“He just opens his mouth and out comes negative stuff. I can’t see how a person with his (negative) feelings is going to be able to run our country in the right way,” Miller said. “I’m really worried about how big a mess he’s going to get us into if he don’t stop and think first.”
Dan Jones of Huber Heights said he likes what he calls Trump’s “tell-it-like-it-is” approach, as well as his background.
“Him not being a politician is sorta refreshing,” Jones said. “I’ve had a lot of family and friends say over the past 20 years, we need a businessman in there to try to get things straightened out. I think he’ll do a good job.”
While Jones said Trump’s choice of “great people” to surround him was a plus, Janice Potter of Troy had the exact opposite opinion, again highlighting the depth of the divide. She especially had concerns with Education Secretary nominee Betsy Devos.
“I’m scared about who he has appointed and what he’s going to do to our country,” Potter said. “I’m concerned about what is going to happen to our education system. I have children who are in public schools and going to be in public schools and I’m concerned about their future.”
Ferdinand McElroy of Dayton worried that if Trump pushes deregulation, loans and funding will again go to unqualified people, triggering another recession or depression like a decade ago. He also had a cynical approach on whether government will really change.
“I think this means more of the same, more of the same policies that Obama has,” McElroy said. “He’ll just modify them and call them his own. There will be continued job growth, the whole nine (yards), but he’ll claim it as his own.”
CONTINUING COVERAGE
Dayton-area Republicans energized, party chairman says
What do you want Donald Trump to do now that he’s president?
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