[ad_1]
MIFFLINTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA (REUTERS) – In Pennsylvania, there’s not much more “red” than Juniata County, a predominantly white, rural region dotted with quaint churches, cattle farms, and factories that US President Donald Trump led in the elections with 80 percent. hundred of votes.
So it was with a mixture of disappointment, suspicion and resignation that residents received the news on Saturday (November 7) that their state had tipped the presidential race in favor of Joe Biden, denying Trump another four years.
“It’s disgusting and sad,” said Kayla Doyle, a 35-year-old Trump supporter and manager of the GridIron Pub on Main Street in Mifflintown, the county seat of Juniata about 45 miles northwest of Harrisburg, the state capital.
“I think it’s rigged.”
Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania, called on Saturday by major television networks, gave him the 20 Electoral College votes he needed to prevail.
But it was achieved by racking up big margins in and around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with less populated areas like Juniata, with some 25,000 people, far behind Trump.
The rural-urban divide highlights the daunting task Biden faces in winning over voters outside of big cities who are skeptical of his agenda and believe that Trump was the first president to govern with their interests at heart.
Trump’s huge sign in front of his century-old brick home makes clear who 54-year-old Crystal Lauver supports.
He said he did not accept the projections of television networks, which he does not trust.
He said Democrats had tried to steal the election by fraud, were communists and hated America, and predicted that Trump would successfully challenge the result in court.
Herbie Stoner, a 53-year-old Trump supporter, said he was suspicious of the Democratic Party and the integrity of the vote.
He is also concerned that a Biden administration cannot match the job growth Trump delivered to the region.
But Stoner, echoing the sentiment of most of the more than 50 Trump supporters interviewed by Reuters in Pennsylvania this week, said he was willing to give Biden a chance.
“We will have to accept it and hope it does the best for our country,” said Stoner, who works for a septic services company in Juniata County.
“If you step up and do your job, we are all on your side.”
In God’s hands
Residents say they benefited from Trump’s presidency, citing low unemployment and the dismantling of regulations that hurt farms and factories.
Empire Kosher, a poultry producer, is Juniata County’s largest employer, with about 750 workers.
They also generally backed Trump’s trade war with China, which they say was necessary to level the playing field for farmers and manufacturers, even if it brought some short-term problems.
Many people said they were worried that Biden was too soft on China.
And they saw very little wrong with how Trump handled the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many Juniata County residents said they thought Democrats had overrated the virus for political gain.
Bars and restaurants like the GridIron Pub are not strict about social distancing. Despite the increase in cases in the state, people hug, kiss and hold hands, and very few wear masks.
The nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May also likely aided Trump in Juniata, as voters welcomed his “law and order” stance.
Demonstrations by Black Lives Matter supporters outside the Mifflintown courthouse have been greeted by counter-protesters, who have at times shouted racial slurs, two protesters told Reuters.
Some residents see the protesters as too confrontational and bringing division to a county that is 97 percent white.
On Friday night, a man in a pickup truck revved his engine and shouted “All lives matter” to a handful of protesters on Main Street.
Shay Ellis, who organized the protests, said poverty and lack of opportunity were behind the affinity for Trump.
“I think it’s a desperate desperation to find a club to belong to and to find someone to blame,” he said.
On Saturday at The Bread of Life restaurant, customers in two adjacent booths discussed the choice.
They agreed that the Democrats were trying to steal him, and that Biden had dementia and would be just a puppet of the far left, echoing Trump’s words in the election campaign.
A middle-aged man said he would never accept Biden as president. One woman agreed but said she would leave the situation “in the hands of God.”
Like many rural areas of the United States, Juniata is religiously and socially conservative.
One of the factors behind Trump’s enduring support here was his opposition to abortion.
On Saturday, in the local newspaper The Sentinel, a writer tried to help readers cope with the impending loss of Trump with a column titled “Despite the results, God has it under control.”
“Yes, there will be a moment of sadness, and maybe even depression for some, but eventually, we may turn the corner,” Ms. Debby Renninger wrote. “We will be fine!”
For live results and updates, follow our live coverage of the US elections.
[ad_2]
