Die-hard Trump supporters remained steadfast, even as heart-rending photos of children held in cages and audio of terrified children crying out for their parents stoked outrage among Democrats and Republicans alike.<\/b>
\nCincinnati resident Andrew Pappas supported President Trump’s decision to separate children from parents who crossed the border illegally because, he said, it got Congress talking about immigration reform.
Niurka Lopez of Michigan said Trump’s \u00ab\u00a0zero-tolerance\u00a0\u00bb policy made sense because her family came to the U. S. legally from Cuba and everyone else should, too.
Die-hard Trump supporters remained steadfast even as heart-rending photos of children held in cages and audio of terrified children crying out for their parents stoked outrage among Democrats and Republicans alike. They said they believed Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen when they falsely claimed that they had no choice but to enforce an existing law.
When Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to end forced separations on his own, they shrugged. The end, they suggested, justified the means. And it was the fault of Congress rather than Trump.
\u00ab\u00a0The optics of what’s happening here directly at the border isn’t something that he wants to have on his watch, but at the end of the day, he still wants to focus the attention of Congress on the fundamental need for immigration reform in the United States and I think he’s gonna hold firm on that,\u00a0\u00bb said Pappas, 53.
\u00ab\u00a0His goal was not to rip families apart, I think his goal was to make Congress act on immigration reform,\u00a0\u00bb Pappas added. \u00ab\u00a0And now…everyone’s talking about immigration reform and I think President Trump is getting exactly what he wants.\u00a0\u00bb
Sixty-five-year-old Richard Klabechek of Oak Grove, Minnesota, who attended the president’s rally Wednesday evening in Duluth, Minnesota, said he was unmoved by the audio of crying children, saying it was \u00ab\u00a0the media playing the heartstrings of the public.\u00a0\u00bb And he said Trump was simply being Trump.
\u00ab\u00a0I think Trump takes issues on in his own direct way, but it doesn’t fit the politically correct narrative of the media or the Democrats,\u00a0\u00bb said Klabecheck, who is retired.
Lopez, 54, said Trump \u00ab\u00a0really cares for the United States of America and the people of the United States of America and to protect us from people that want to hurt us.\u00a0\u00bb
Others shared her assessment.
John Trandem, 42, who owns an automotive services company near Fargo, North Dakota, said he has supported all of Trump’s decisions during the border controversy.
\u00ab\u00a0He’s certainly not a man without compassion. He’s not a monster as he’s being framed by the media and by the left,\u00a0\u00bb said Trandem, who was a delegate at the 2016 Republican convention where Trump clinched the nomination for president.
\u00ab\u00a0He recognizes that it’s a very challenging issue…. Nobody wants to see parents and children separated, but… the blame should be put squarely back on the shoulders of the people who broke the law in the first place.\u00a0\u00bb
Trump voter Terry Welch of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, said he blames Congress and its GOP leadership for not reforming immigration laws, though he admits he doesn’t like Trump as a person.
\u00ab\u00a0It’s a terrible situation,\u00a0\u00bb Welch, 43, said of the distraught children. \u00ab\u00a0I think everybody believes that.\u00a0\u00bb
Still, he said the president’s dramatic reversal on separating children won’t solve anything: \u00ab\u00a0I see that as placating people.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 31<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 0.9<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

TW posts: 50<\/div>\n

TW reposts: 13<\/div>\n

TW likes: 16<\/div>\n

TW sentiment: 10<\/div>\n<\/div>\n