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Watching The Debate With NYC Trump Supporters & Conflicted Republicans
By
Gaby Del Valle
Published Oct 10, 2016
Modified Oct 10, 2016
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Gaby Del Valle
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By
Gaby Del Valle
Published Oct 10, 2016
Modified Oct 10, 2016
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New York is, overwhelmingly, Hillary Clinton's town. But if you look in the right place—like a Midtown bar on a Sunday night—you'll find an unlikely buzz of conservative activity, organized by the city's local Young Republicans chapter. The group met up at the Madison Square Tavern last night to watch the second presidential debate and cheer on their chosen candidate: Donald Trump.
But not all of the 50-odd people in the basement last night were Trump supporters—some weren't even Republicans. By my count, there were at least six other reporters prowling for Trump fans and five Clinton supporters who hadn't been able to nab a seat at another bar.
The rest of the audience was split between reluctant conservatives and die-hard Trump supporters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump's biggest fans were the loudest of the bunch.
"Hillary wants UN policies to be enforced on our country," 30-year-old Diego Hernandez said. Hernandez, a Libertarian, originally backed Rand Paul, but quickly shifted his support to Trump. "I can't tell you what policies in particular, but I'm not a fan of the United Nations. Trump has revealed so much corruption within the Republican party."
When the debate began, Hernandez—who described himself as "Puerto Rican and Italian"—was one of the loudest people in the room. When Clinton first spoke during the debate, he yelled, "What about your emails? What about Juanita Broaddrick?" When she mentioned Trump's poor track record among Latinos, Hernandez shouted, "Not me, I love him!"
Hernandez spent the night cheering, jeering, and booing along with the rest of the audience. Based on the energy in the room, even I was starting to believe Trump was winning the debate. He wasn't fully answering most of the questions, he insulted the moderators, interrupted his opponent, and rambled digressively—but none of that mattered. People were loving his performance. At times, the crowd was so loud I couldn't hear him speak. When Clinton spoke, they often talked over her, eerily mirroring their candidate.
But not everyone at the bar was talking to the screen (or eager to talk to the press). A man in his mid-30s quietly stood near the back of the bar, wearing a camouflage "Make America Great Again" hat. He declined to give his name, citing fear of professional repercussions—"If we lived in a free society, I'd give you my name, rank, address," he noted. Whenever Trump was asked about his pussy-grabbing past or Clinton was asked about her emails, he'd shake his head. "When are they going to get to the real issues?" he wondered.
Nick Rohleder, a 23-year-old investment banker who lives in the East Village, was even less excited about the prospect of a Trump presidency. Rohleder voted for Romney in 2012 and is at a loss for what to do this year.
"What Trump says has no value," he told me. "He's building a brand, but there's no substance. But I wouldn't vote for Hillary, either. A lot of her policies will affect me to a degree I don't like. But I don't dislike her, just her policies." But Rohleder and his friend, who declined to give his name, both agreed that Trump had won the debate last night.
"I'm just going to vote downballot," Rohleder's friend said. "I hate that Trump is my party's candidate."
During the debate, they had been among the quietest in the room, completely drowned out by Trump's most ardent supporters.
Kristen S., a former NYC resident who recently moved to Hoboken, sat in front of the bar all night, jeering at the television. "Lock her up!" she yelled more than once. When Clinton said she wouldn't allow anyone who's a threat to national security into the country, Kristen instantly responded: "Yes you will, bitch!"
"We can't vet refugees," said her friend, Mike W., a Brooklyn Heights resident. "Or as you people call them, 'Skittles.' It's dangerous."
"I don't want to eat those skittles!" Kristen said. "Three could kill ya!"
When asked about Trump's most recent sexism controversy, both rushed to his defense.
"I don't want to belittle what he said," Kristen told me. "But it shows a real ability to change character. When he spoke to that woman, he was polite and professional. It shows he can be presidential."
"Besides," Mike added, "before Trump ran for president, any woman in this town would've slept with him. Don't say you wouldn't have. If you saw him at a Lower East Side bar, you'd go home with him. The guy's a billionaire."
Tagged
donald trump
election 2016
madison square tavern
nyc young republicans
trump
young republicans
Gaby Del Valle
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