I have just arrived in north-eastern Pennsylvania for the dog days of summer in a former mining community nestled among beautiful hills by the mighty Susquehanna river. In 2020 it was a riot of Donald Trump flags and yard signs, portraying him as Rambo brandishing a bazooka and in other heroic poses. Today, there are almost none. It is a shocking turnaround. Are Trump supporters lying low or have they disappeared?
This is Luzerne county, part of the Democratic “blue-wall” that crumbled in 2016 and propelled Trump to victory against Hillary Clinton. In 2020 Trump beat Joe Biden here by 57 per cent to 42 per cent. People used to boast they were “proud deplorables” in response to Clinton’s famous insult. Where have they all gone? I can’t say for sure, but the neighbourhood feels moderately more prosperous, younger, more diverse and less angry. Near-full employment and the absence of the pandemic may have something to do with the atmosphere.
Julia Robins, 44, has a rare Biden- Harris 2024 sign on her front lawn, which she is waiting to update. Her next-door neighbours were big Trump supporters four years ago; today she is not sure. I asked her what was different about this year’s campaign. Robins believes Trump voters are no longer feeling loud and proud. “They don’t want people to know they support him. After what happened on January 6, I wouldn’t want people to know I was a Trump supporter.” The same goes for Roe v Wade, she added, citing the supreme court’s reversal of abortion rights.
Robins has three daughters and four grand-daughters. “My mother is a registered independent. My sister’s a registered independent. All voting Democratic,” she emphasised.
Her fiancé is a registered Republican, who thought Biden was too old to run, but will probably vote for Harris. “He’s got to live with me for the rest of his life,” Robins quipped. She was not sure about her 24-year-old son, who likes guns, but hoped he could be persuaded.
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