In small town Pennsylvania, Trump voters say it’s too early to judge US president

Nearly 100 days into Donald Trump's presidency, many pollsters and pundits say his record so far is dire. But Trump country sees it differently, reports Rob Crilly in Kingston, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump, the then Republican presidential nominee, attends a campaign event in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2016. Carlo Allegri / Reuters

Kingston, Pennsylvania // Ask Chuck Molinari what he thinks of Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office and a smile works its way across his face.

“100 days really isn’t long at all,” he says, sitting on a weights bench in his exercise equipment store before dismissing what he sees as an artificial benchmark.

“I’m not going to be this guy that defends him on everything but when he’s right, I’ll back him up and when he’s wrong I’ll say it.

“It’s way too soon.”

Saturday marks Mr Trump’s 100th day in office and pollsters and pundits are preparing their verdicts.

Opinion polls put Mr Trump’s approval rating at about 40 per cent – a record low for a president this early in his term – and much of the media sees an inexperienced White House bogged down by missteps and failures.

His legislative agenda has stalled since a plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare failed to even make it to a vote in Congress and his travel ban ended in a humiliating defeat to the courts.

Many of the assessments by commentators are dire.

Yet Trump country sees it differently. Kingston, a neat town in Pennsylvania where the cherry blossom casts pink clouds over residential streets, was one of the places that helped propel Mr Trump to power.

After years as a Democratic stronghold, it swung decisively behind Mr Trump in last year’s election – an important part of the Republican wave that denied a string of crucial states to Hillary Clinton.

Mr Molinari says he and other businesses have seen a new confidence among shoppers ever since.

“I think people are spending more money with me than last year,” he says. “Last year was my worst year in business by a lot. I think there was apprehension. People were uncertain what was going to happen.”

A day earlier, he delivered a US$4,300 (Dh15,800) treadmill to its new owner – not a purchase families make when they are worried about the economy.

Across town, at the Bakehouse Bakery and Cafe, an informal breakfast club is lingering over coffee. The table under the TV is where Republicans tend to gather.

“I think a lot of things have happened in 100 days,” says Kathy, a retired teacher and registered Democrat. She asks not to give her second name but is happy to say she voted this time for Mr Trump.

Her fellow breakfasters talk of early wins such as a dip in illegal migrants crossing the border and the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the supreme court – an appointment that means a conservative will be on the bench far longer than Mr Trump is in the White House.

Then there is the tough international stance.

Kathy points to the missile strike on Syria as evidence that the president is a man of action.

And although the media is focusing on demands that he release his taxes or criticism that he failed to get his health care bill into law, she says, such calls are failing to resonate in Kingston.

Just as so many wrote Mr Trump off before the election last year, so too they are hurrying to write him off now he is in power.

“We have so many other pressing issues,” she says over one last cup of coffee. “And I think that his intentions are honourable – that he believes in America.”

Speak to anyone around town and the pressing issues almost always seem to come back to the economy.

Kingston shares many of the features of Trump’s America. It is predominantly white and has suffered decades of economic decline. The factories that replaced the coal mines a generation or two ago have also closed. As in other places this gap has been filled by the service sector but only up to a point: The unemployment rate tends to hover a percentage point or more above the national average.

The Trump voters around town insist that turning all of that around will take time.

Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College in New York state, says Mr Trump’s supporters are remaining loyal for now.

“He’s still doing well with his base and with people who voted for him,” she says. “They don’t seem to regret the decision at all. So that’s a plus, but they are a narrow swath of the electorate and of Americans.”

With such low overall approval ratings so early in his presidency, she adds, the problems are only likely to deepen as he tries to navigate more bills through Congress.

For his supporters though, that says as much about a polarised America and its political class as it does about Mr Trump.

Frank DeViva, who owns the Bakehouse Bakery and Cafe as well as a “Bake America Great Again” cap, says blame does not lie with the president.

“Trump’s ability to help the nation is being hindered by the obstructionist position that Congress is taking,” says the 56-year-old.

All of which means that when it comes to fixing the problems that matter to people in Kingston, there is no hurry in declaring Mr Trump a winner or a loser just yet.

“The reality is that the economy is not a speedboat, it’s an ocean liner and it takes a lot of time to turn it around,” says Mr DeViva.