Michelle Stockman, 36, sits on her porch smoking a cigarette while her daughter stands behind the screen door. She has short blond hair and wears a dark hoodie. At first she is very hesitant to talk about politics, saying “I don’t know” frequently. Eventually she grew comfortable and says she voted for Donald Trump.
“At least he’s not a criminal,” Stockman said.
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Stockman lives on Willard Street in Lime Springs, Iowa. It was quiet that Sunday evening. Many people were in their houses, hiding away from the chilling weather. The small dog next door to
Stockman was chained outside barking happily at passersby.
Lime Springs is in Howard County, Iowa. In the 2016 elections this county flipped to Republican by 42 points, according to cbnc.com. That’s the most in the country.
Stockman did vote for President Obama. She also liked Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders.
In reaction to accusations that Trump supporters are all racist bigots, she said that it is false and that people who think that are the bigots.
Trump’s comments about women did not bother her.
“I’ve worked with men, and they’re all like that,” said Stockman. She works for Dr. Pepper.
Stockman thought Trump’s phrase, “Make America Great Again” was dumb. Her 16-year-old daughter wore a hat with the phrase and Stockman told her to take it off. She didn’t want her daughter to get harassed.
She also didn’t care about the protests after Trump had won.
“A lot of people in their 20s don’t know how to take rejection,” said Stockman.
There were no specific policies Trump and Clinton talked about that Stockman thought were important.
“I didn’t give a sh-t, I went to go to bed,” said Stockman about election night. She said at the end of the elections it was like a T.V show.
Stockman brought up her neighbor whom she believed would be willing to talk about the elections. She checked her phone and texted while talking more about the elections.
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Todd Mensink, 40, came out of his home in a hoodie and plaid pajama pants. He shivered a bit as he held a cigarette between his fingers.
Mensink is a sociology and criminology professor at the University of Iowa. He voted for Jill Stein this year and in 2012. Mensink did vote for Obama in 2008.
“I am an anomaly,” said Mensink when describing himself.
Mensink said he was sick of neoliberalism. He did not like the idea of voting for the lesser of two evils.
“Do you keep voting for the lesser of two evils or take a stand?” said Mensink.
Mensink was angry and sad when Trump won.
Mensink said he is afraid of immigrants getting deported. When people say that they want to deport people with a criminal record, Mensink questioned what constitutes a criminal.
One idea of Trump that Mensink did like is a two-term limit for Senators.
Mensink gets his information from NBC and CNN. He listens to MPR and Rush Limbaugh. He said a lot of what the news says isn’t true. Mensink thought Facebook played a major role in misinformation.
“I gotta know what they’re saying,” said Mensink.
He remembered seeing his colleagues crying, worried about being deported. Some colleagues accused of him being a misogynist for the way he voted.
Mensink thought Clinton should have faced the emails accusation and that race was a big issue in the election. He talked about the Black Lives Matter and said that he thinks that many people don’t get the movement.
He said a lot of people are misinformed because people aren’t aware of the world outside of their communities. Being introduced to a more diverse area affects how they would view the country. People are actually afraid of change, according to Mensink.