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Four years ago, many people in Portsmouth, OH, a struggling Appalachian town on the Ohio River, thought Trump would come to their rescue. This is the @ReutersTV report @Chris_Dignam & I did on Nov 9, 2016, the morning after the election https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idksS?now=true
I spent a week in Portsmouth, and my visit caused a stir. It even got written up in the local paper, although they had my last name as "Switter." Close enough, I told them. The place was in the doldrums then and everyone I met said to me: "You'll never come back."
But I did--I went back! It was amazing to see the people I'd met the first time after four years, but I also met a whole slew of really interesting folks for the first time. I am so grateful for their willingness to talk to me and share their thoughts, especially about politics
I had been there for less than 24 hours when the news broke that Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died. I got to discuss that with the people I was meeting. I also checked back in with them after Tuesday's debate and Friday's news that @POTUS has Covid-19.
What I found: Trump didn't help Portsmouth the way his supporters expected. But the town is doing better anyway, because a group of young people there are working to improve it themselves. Even so, Trump remains incredibly popular.
When I visited the first time, I found a distinct lack of enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton. Biden, by contrast, is getting a much warmer reception. I met people who are actually excited to vote for him, whereas 4 years ago a local Democrat I met couldn't even say Clinton's name
I revisited members of the Portsmouth West High School class of 2017, who were seniors at the time of the 2016 election. Two childhood best friends have gone opposite ways: One is now a Bernie supporter; the other has embraced conspiracy theories like QAnon (they no longer talk)
I found reasons to fear for the future of Portsmouth and other places like it, where things are getting more and more polarized, but also reasons to hope. Eventually, people just can't take the divisive stuff & they find common ground where they can https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/03/us/politics/ohio-election-trump-biden.html
