OWENSBORO, Ky. — On the anniversary of his election, President Trump tweeted a picture of himself with top advisers and offered congratulations to the “deplorables” who gave him the win.
One year after the 2016 election, what do his supporters think?
In the year since the vote, CBS News has spoken to a variety of Trump supporters from Iowa to Ohio, from Illinois to Indiana and from Michigan to Wisconsin — all of them joined by their common devotion to the man in the White House.
That was the case Wednesday in Daviess County, Kentucky, which went for Mr. Trump by more than 30 points last November. And down at Dee’s Diner in Owensboro, support for the president — and scorn for his critics — are holding firm.
Bill James is a registered Democrat.
“He’s had to fight his way through everything,” James said. “Nobody gives him the benefit of the doubt.”
CBS News wanted to know what kept these men with Mr. Trump, despite his administration’s limited progress.
“The strength that he exudes, the determination. I could not be happier with anybody,” said Oda Shouse, a local preacher.
Eric Belcher is still with Mr. Trump. Asked what Trump’s major accomplishment has been, Belcher replied, “None at the moment. I think it’s all just been packed full with publicity and stunts.”
They didn’t think much of the Mueller investigation or North Korea. And Belcher likened Mr. Trump’s stance on North Korea to an old football coach he still admires.
“He was hard. He was stern. If you screwed up he would drill you in the head with a hundred mile an hour football and knock some sense into you,” Belcher said.
The men at Dee’s Diner say Mr. Trump may not be a role model, but he’s a fighter — their fighter. And to his supporters around the country, that’s enough to keep them in his corner.
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