Dan Roberts in Prestonburg, Kentucky
@RobertsDan
Friday 13 May 2016 17.47 BST
Hillary Clinton may not be able to count on support in mountain states in the same way Barack Obama and her husband did
Bill Clinton returned to Appalachia this week with a familiar song ringing in his ears.
Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow) was a campaign anthem that helped the “Big Dog” win two presidential elections in the 1990s in this mountain region.
It played him off stage again in Kentucky on Thursday afternoon and by the time he arrived in the state’s hard-pressed eastern coalfields that evening, it was to serve as the theme of a speech designed to rally his wife’s campaign in 2016.
“The problem is that people think every tomorrow is going to be just like yesterday,” he told a group of miners in Prestonburg. “The question is, are we going to get back in the future business, and are you going along for the ride?”
The miners had booed when he walked on stage. These days the mountains appear instead to belong to a politician offering something more potent than hope.
Even among Republicans, Donald Trump divides opinion in many parts of the country. Not so in Appalachia, where his success in the party’s recently completed primary elections here was universal enough that it could serve as a new definition of the region’s rugged borders.
Of the 420 counties seen as sharing a culture that transcends state lines, Trump won all but 16 , including a sweep of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and the western uplands of Virginia with potentially profound ramifications for the general election.
These three states are regarded as “purple” battlegrounds in part because they remain diverse, with blue Democratic cities that tend to balance out a red shift in the hills. ButHillary Clinton may not be able to count on their support in the same way Barack Obama and her husband did.
Despite retaining a clear opinion poll lead over Trump at the national level, the Clinton campaign was jolted this week by a new survey suggesting three purple states – Ohio, Pennsylvania and Trump’s second home state of Florida – may now be too close to call.
The Quinnipaic poll put Trump four points ahead in Ohio and only one point behind in Pennsylvania and Florida. It may prove an outlier, but no presidential candidate since 1960 has won the White House without taking at least two of these three battlegrounds.
To add insult to injury, the same survey showed Clinton’s otherwise struggling Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders doing better against Trump in each of the battleground states – adding to momentum he gained this week with his victory in the West Virginia primary, something he will hope to replicate in Kentucky on Tuesday.
To understand why some traditional Democratic bulwarks now look vulnerable for Clinton, the Guardian travelled along this wide arc of Appalachian counties that make up the core of Trump’s support among white working-class men and have become a symptom of her struggle to despatch Sanders.
The Ohio city of Steubenville lies 300 miles north of Prestonburg, but shares the same hilly topography and deep scepticism of the Clinton school of optimism.
While Bill was president, this once proud industrial community experienced the sharpest drop in population of any urban area in the country. It has continued to shrink since, as the collapse of the local steel industry leaves an economic vacuum that remains to be filled.
As in other steel towns in nearby Pennsylvania, here previously loyal Democratsare now flirting with Trump’s unique brand of Republicanism in growing numbers.
“I think Trump is nuts, but I’d love to have him as a president to see what happens,” says Edward Tucker, a 68-year-old retired carpenter from Steubenville, who says he has no regrets about twice voting for Barack Obama in previous elections.
“I wouldn’t want to end up in some kind of war or anything,” he adds hastily. “But something is going to change if he’s president; we just don’t know what.”
Nevertheless Tucker is sceptical of any politician claiming to be able to return all the jobs to the area and does not simply blame China for taking away the steel mills.
“There is nothing the president can do,” he says. “The problem with jobs is our advancement in technology and they are not going to reverse that. They are going to keep trying to make things easier and better. That’s the way it’s going to be.”
It is realism echoed by the local director of economic development, Evan Scurti, who doubts high-volume steel mills will ever return to the area and is focused on trying to attract smaller companies back instead.
With a pause even in the local natural gas boom and lack of flat development land, it is a tall order. “There are a lot more Trump posters going up around here,” he notes.
But other parts of Ohio have shown that manufacturing jobs can return, if enough effort is made.
Sara Marrs-Maxfield coordinates economic development for Athens County, which has just tempted back a tyre mold manufacturer which decided to close up six years ago in the face of cheap foreign competition.
Persuading Athens Tire & Mold to reopen its abandoned factory was not easy and required sizeable grants and assistance from local development bodies. Yet it will bring 60 jobs back to a site that would otherwise have been converted into student housing instead. “It comes down to a matter of political will,” says Marrs-Maxfield.
Among Trump supporters, there is more going on than a simple belief that he will work harder to encourage such “reshoring” of US manufacturing.
Standing outside a Lowes DIY store in Steubenville, Edward Tucker acknowledges a personal distrust of Hillary Clinton too, although he denies any suggestion of sexism.
“I like Trump, and Sanders. I don’t like Hillary Clinton at all. I never did like her. It has nothing to do with her politics, I just never liked her. I don’t like her attitude,” he says.
“It’s not because she’s a woman; I think she’s arrogant. I don’t know, she might be just fine, but she comes across as arrogant.”
Back in Prestonburg, some of the Trump supporters who have picketed the Bill Clinton event also acknowledge a personal antipathy that is peculiarly focused on the former secretary of state.
“It think it was a smart move to send him instead of her. Bill is more likely to go down well with Democrats here in eastern Kentucky,” says Terry Adam, a 49-year-old small businessman from Letcher County, shortly before he is moved on by a secret service agent.
There are plenty of men in the line of Democratic supporters at the event too though.
“My daughter here looks up to Hillary,” says Jeff Krejsa, a 40-year-old defence engineer who has travelled from Richmond, Kentucky, with his daughters, aged seven and 10. “I like the fact that she is at a young age and is seeing a woman run for president.”
Inside the event, there is also palpable excitement at the prospect of the first female president that transcends any easy stereotyping of Appalachian menfolk.
But the issue that Bill Clinton grapples hardest with is what to do about Trump’s appeal to economic nostalgia in a region that may never recapture the job security it once had.
“I think [the Trump slogan] ‘Make America Great Again’ is actually ‘Make it like it was in the 1960s’,” says Clinton. “If you think you can do it, have at it. If you really believe you can go back to the 1950s and make it like it was then, have at it.”
It is not that the Democrats don’t believe in progress, simply that they are more realistic about how it will be achieved, claims Bill.
“I grew up in a place like this. I hope to be the last American president to grow up without an indoor toilet,” he says. “Everybody believed they could make tomorrow better than today … but we are not going to get anywhere screaming at each other.”
The trouble is that tomorrow did arrive in many parts of the US, and not everyone liked what it looked like. For now, the voices shouting loudest about it – not just in rural Appalachia, but in cities across the US where the middle class is shrinking – are perhaps the ones more voters want to hear.
@RobertsDan
Friday 13 May 2016 17.47 BST
Hillary Clinton may not be able to count on support in mountain states in the same way Barack Obama and her husband did
Bill Clinton returned to Appalachia this week with a familiar song ringing in his ears.
Fleetwood Mac’s Don’t Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow) was a campaign anthem that helped the “Big Dog” win two presidential elections in the 1990s in this mountain region.
It played him off stage again in Kentucky on Thursday afternoon and by the time he arrived in the state’s hard-pressed eastern coalfields that evening, it was to serve as the theme of a speech designed to rally his wife’s campaign in 2016.
“The problem is that people think every tomorrow is going to be just like yesterday,” he told a group of miners in Prestonburg. “The question is, are we going to get back in the future business, and are you going along for the ride?”
The miners had booed when he walked on stage. These days the mountains appear instead to belong to a politician offering something more potent than hope.
Even among Republicans, Donald Trump divides opinion in many parts of the country. Not so in Appalachia, where his success in the party’s recently completed primary elections here was universal enough that it could serve as a new definition of the region’s rugged borders.
Of the 420 counties seen as sharing a culture that transcends state lines, Trump won all but 16 , including a sweep of western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and the western uplands of Virginia with potentially profound ramifications for the general election.
These three states are regarded as “purple” battlegrounds in part because they remain diverse, with blue Democratic cities that tend to balance out a red shift in the hills. ButHillary Clinton may not be able to count on their support in the same way Barack Obama and her husband did.
Despite retaining a clear opinion poll lead over Trump at the national level, the Clinton campaign was jolted this week by a new survey suggesting three purple states – Ohio, Pennsylvania and Trump’s second home state of Florida – may now be too close to call.
The Quinnipaic poll put Trump four points ahead in Ohio and only one point behind in Pennsylvania and Florida. It may prove an outlier, but no presidential candidate since 1960 has won the White House without taking at least two of these three battlegrounds.
To add insult to injury, the same survey showed Clinton’s otherwise struggling Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders doing better against Trump in each of the battleground states – adding to momentum he gained this week with his victory in the West Virginia primary, something he will hope to replicate in Kentucky on Tuesday.
To understand why some traditional Democratic bulwarks now look vulnerable for Clinton, the Guardian travelled along this wide arc of Appalachian counties that make up the core of Trump’s support among white working-class men and have become a symptom of her struggle to despatch Sanders.
The Ohio city of Steubenville lies 300 miles north of Prestonburg, but shares the same hilly topography and deep scepticism of the Clinton school of optimism.
While Bill was president, this once proud industrial community experienced the sharpest drop in population of any urban area in the country. It has continued to shrink since, as the collapse of the local steel industry leaves an economic vacuum that remains to be filled.
As in other steel towns in nearby Pennsylvania, here previously loyal Democratsare now flirting with Trump’s unique brand of Republicanism in growing numbers.
“I think Trump is nuts, but I’d love to have him as a president to see what happens,” says Edward Tucker, a 68-year-old retired carpenter from Steubenville, who says he has no regrets about twice voting for Barack Obama in previous elections.
“I wouldn’t want to end up in some kind of war or anything,” he adds hastily. “But something is going to change if he’s president; we just don’t know what.”
Nevertheless Tucker is sceptical of any politician claiming to be able to return all the jobs to the area and does not simply blame China for taking away the steel mills.
“There is nothing the president can do,” he says. “The problem with jobs is our advancement in technology and they are not going to reverse that. They are going to keep trying to make things easier and better. That’s the way it’s going to be.”
It is realism echoed by the local director of economic development, Evan Scurti, who doubts high-volume steel mills will ever return to the area and is focused on trying to attract smaller companies back instead.
With a pause even in the local natural gas boom and lack of flat development land, it is a tall order. “There are a lot more Trump posters going up around here,” he notes.
But other parts of Ohio have shown that manufacturing jobs can return, if enough effort is made.
Sara Marrs-Maxfield coordinates economic development for Athens County, which has just tempted back a tyre mold manufacturer which decided to close up six years ago in the face of cheap foreign competition.
Persuading Athens Tire & Mold to reopen its abandoned factory was not easy and required sizeable grants and assistance from local development bodies. Yet it will bring 60 jobs back to a site that would otherwise have been converted into student housing instead. “It comes down to a matter of political will,” says Marrs-Maxfield.
Among Trump supporters, there is more going on than a simple belief that he will work harder to encourage such “reshoring” of US manufacturing.
Standing outside a Lowes DIY store in Steubenville, Edward Tucker acknowledges a personal distrust of Hillary Clinton too, although he denies any suggestion of sexism.
“I like Trump, and Sanders. I don’t like Hillary Clinton at all. I never did like her. It has nothing to do with her politics, I just never liked her. I don’t like her attitude,” he says.
“It’s not because she’s a woman; I think she’s arrogant. I don’t know, she might be just fine, but she comes across as arrogant.”
Back in Prestonburg, some of the Trump supporters who have picketed the Bill Clinton event also acknowledge a personal antipathy that is peculiarly focused on the former secretary of state.
“It think it was a smart move to send him instead of her. Bill is more likely to go down well with Democrats here in eastern Kentucky,” says Terry Adam, a 49-year-old small businessman from Letcher County, shortly before he is moved on by a secret service agent.
There are plenty of men in the line of Democratic supporters at the event too though.
“My daughter here looks up to Hillary,” says Jeff Krejsa, a 40-year-old defence engineer who has travelled from Richmond, Kentucky, with his daughters, aged seven and 10. “I like the fact that she is at a young age and is seeing a woman run for president.”
Inside the event, there is also palpable excitement at the prospect of the first female president that transcends any easy stereotyping of Appalachian menfolk.
But the issue that Bill Clinton grapples hardest with is what to do about Trump’s appeal to economic nostalgia in a region that may never recapture the job security it once had.
“I think [the Trump slogan] ‘Make America Great Again’ is actually ‘Make it like it was in the 1960s’,” says Clinton. “If you think you can do it, have at it. If you really believe you can go back to the 1950s and make it like it was then, have at it.”
It is not that the Democrats don’t believe in progress, simply that they are more realistic about how it will be achieved, claims Bill.
“I grew up in a place like this. I hope to be the last American president to grow up without an indoor toilet,” he says. “Everybody believed they could make tomorrow better than today … but we are not going to get anywhere screaming at each other.”
The trouble is that tomorrow did arrive in many parts of the US, and not everyone liked what it looked like. For now, the voices shouting loudest about it – not just in rural Appalachia, but in cities across the US where the middle class is shrinking – are perhaps the ones more voters want to hear.
India Hindu group prays for Donald Trump win
Around a dozen members of Hindu Sena lit a ritual fire and prayers in a park in Delhi
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has gained some unlikely fans - including a right-wing Hindu group in India.
Members of the Hindu Sena held a prayer in support of Mr Trump winning the US presidential election.
The little-known group said they supported Mr Trump "because he is hope for humanity against Islamic terror".
Mr Trump has proposed a ban on Muslims entering the US - drawing widespread criticism at home and abroad.
He has also advocated killing the families of terrorists and invading Syria to eradicate the so-called Islamic State group and appropriate its oil.
Around a dozen members of Hindu Sena lit a ritual fire and prayers in a park in Delhi on Wednesday, and hung a banner declaring their support for Mr Trump.
Surrounded by statues of Hindu gods, they threw offerings such as seeds, grass and ghee (clarified butter) into a small ritual fire.
"Only Donald Trump can save humanity," Vishnu Gupta, founder of the group, told the Associated Press news agency.
He also told The Indian Express newspaper that the group had planned "several events to express its wholehearted support for Mr Trump".
The nationalist group has previously been known for vandalism and assault, attacking the office of a political party in 2014, and spraying a legislator who protested against a ban on eating beef.
- 12 May 2016
- From the sectionIndia.
Around a dozen members of Hindu Sena lit a ritual fire and prayers in a park in Delhi
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has gained some unlikely fans - including a right-wing Hindu group in India.
Members of the Hindu Sena held a prayer in support of Mr Trump winning the US presidential election.
The little-known group said they supported Mr Trump "because he is hope for humanity against Islamic terror".
Mr Trump has proposed a ban on Muslims entering the US - drawing widespread criticism at home and abroad.
He has also advocated killing the families of terrorists and invading Syria to eradicate the so-called Islamic State group and appropriate its oil.
Around a dozen members of Hindu Sena lit a ritual fire and prayers in a park in Delhi on Wednesday, and hung a banner declaring their support for Mr Trump.
Surrounded by statues of Hindu gods, they threw offerings such as seeds, grass and ghee (clarified butter) into a small ritual fire.
"Only Donald Trump can save humanity," Vishnu Gupta, founder of the group, told the Associated Press news agency.
He also told The Indian Express newspaper that the group had planned "several events to express its wholehearted support for Mr Trump".
The nationalist group has previously been known for vandalism and assault, attacking the office of a political party in 2014, and spraying a legislator who protested against a ban on eating beef.
US & Canadaselected
Meet the Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus supporting Trump
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's barbs against Muslims and immigrants may have offended many, but there are a few people within the same communities now rooting for the billionaire.
Right after his victory in the Nevada caucuses, Mr Trump was quick to flaunt the support he got from some Hispanic voters. Now he can add Hindus for Trump, American Sikhs for Trump and even American Muslims for Trump to his list.
While these groups in no way reflect the thinking of the wider Hindu, Sikh or Muslim community in the US, they are nevertheless making headlines in the diaspora media.
The Hindus for Trump Facebook page, which has 500 "likes", has gone so far as to place the business tycoon on the same pedestal as some of the most revered Hindu gods.
They have come out with a poster where Mr Trump is seen sitting in a yoga posture on a lotus with the "Om" symbol—an uncanny resemblance to the Hindu Gods Brahma and Vishnu.
In Hindu beliefs, Brahma is the creator of the world and Vishnu the protector and restorer of moral order.
A post on the group's Facebook page appeals to "Trump Haters".
"Donald Trump promises to make America Great again. It means more jobs, less warmongering, protected borders, treasury surplus and a better life for LEGAL Americans. He's going to win and you are on the wrong side of History."
The Hindu American Foundation, a non-profit, says they have received several complaints about the depiction of Mr Trump as a Hindu deity.
"We have tweeted our concerns to this group but haven't heard back from them," says Jay Kansara, director of government relations at the foundation, who notes that they do not endorse any candidate.
It's estimated that there are almost 2.5 million Hindus living in the United States.
A few New Jersey-based Indian-Americans have launched a political action committee named Indian-Americans For Trump 2016.
One of the group's members, Sudhir Parikh, believes Trump is a "do-er who can negotiate both with Republicans and Democrats".
"He looks unstoppable. Part of our community does support Hillary Clinton, but we have to support the other side too, so that our interests are protected and we have access to the Washington power," says Mr Parikh, who also owns Parikh World Media, which publishes media titles including News India Times and Desi Talk in New York.
Many of those who have migrated to the US from India have traditionally supported Democrats but often it's the candidate and not the party ideology that attracts them.
George W Bush had one of the highest approval ratings amongst Indians because of his strong support for the US-India nuclear deal.
Mr Parikh says his committee does not represent Hindus, but many Hindu organisations have come forward to extend their support. So what's drawing them to Trump?
"Maybe they like what he has said about Muslims but that would be one of the reasons, not the only reason," says Mr Parikh.
Mr Trump has advocated "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on".
The comment drew worldwide criticism, but the group American Muslims for Trump says it was "highly exaggerated and used out of context".
The group's founder, Sajid Tarar, a Pakistani American, says he fully supports Trump's suggestions on finding a strong vetting mechanism for refugees coming from countries like Syria.
"I am an American myself and I believe it should be about (putting) America first," he says. "I am not in favour of anybody coming here and doing things against America."
Similar sentiments are echoed by Jesse Singh, who has founded the group American Sikhs for Trump.
Mr Singh is the chair of the Maryland Governor's Association on South Asian Affairs. He and Mr Tarar hosted a meeting with a Trump campaign representative recently in Maryland.
He came to the United States from India nearly 30 years ago.
"I don't see that America anymore," says Mr Singh. "So when Trump says make America Great again, I fully agree with him,"
He says Trump has never opposed legal migration and has businesses all over the world, including India.
"I think he understands different cultures and different countries better than any other candidate in the race," says Mr Singh.
Both Mr Singh and Mr Tarar realise the larger Sikh and Muslim communities don't agree with their views.
But they hope that if Mr Trump is the Republican nominee, they may warm up to him.
- US Election 2016selected
Meet the Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus supporting Trump
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's barbs against Muslims and immigrants may have offended many, but there are a few people within the same communities now rooting for the billionaire.
Right after his victory in the Nevada caucuses, Mr Trump was quick to flaunt the support he got from some Hispanic voters. Now he can add Hindus for Trump, American Sikhs for Trump and even American Muslims for Trump to his list.
While these groups in no way reflect the thinking of the wider Hindu, Sikh or Muslim community in the US, they are nevertheless making headlines in the diaspora media.
The Hindus for Trump Facebook page, which has 500 "likes", has gone so far as to place the business tycoon on the same pedestal as some of the most revered Hindu gods.
They have come out with a poster where Mr Trump is seen sitting in a yoga posture on a lotus with the "Om" symbol—an uncanny resemblance to the Hindu Gods Brahma and Vishnu.
In Hindu beliefs, Brahma is the creator of the world and Vishnu the protector and restorer of moral order.
A post on the group's Facebook page appeals to "Trump Haters".
"Donald Trump promises to make America Great again. It means more jobs, less warmongering, protected borders, treasury surplus and a better life for LEGAL Americans. He's going to win and you are on the wrong side of History."
The Hindu American Foundation, a non-profit, says they have received several complaints about the depiction of Mr Trump as a Hindu deity.
"We have tweeted our concerns to this group but haven't heard back from them," says Jay Kansara, director of government relations at the foundation, who notes that they do not endorse any candidate.
It's estimated that there are almost 2.5 million Hindus living in the United States.
A few New Jersey-based Indian-Americans have launched a political action committee named Indian-Americans For Trump 2016.
One of the group's members, Sudhir Parikh, believes Trump is a "do-er who can negotiate both with Republicans and Democrats".
"He looks unstoppable. Part of our community does support Hillary Clinton, but we have to support the other side too, so that our interests are protected and we have access to the Washington power," says Mr Parikh, who also owns Parikh World Media, which publishes media titles including News India Times and Desi Talk in New York.
Many of those who have migrated to the US from India have traditionally supported Democrats but often it's the candidate and not the party ideology that attracts them.
George W Bush had one of the highest approval ratings amongst Indians because of his strong support for the US-India nuclear deal.
Mr Parikh says his committee does not represent Hindus, but many Hindu organisations have come forward to extend their support. So what's drawing them to Trump?
"Maybe they like what he has said about Muslims but that would be one of the reasons, not the only reason," says Mr Parikh.
Mr Trump has advocated "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on".
The comment drew worldwide criticism, but the group American Muslims for Trump says it was "highly exaggerated and used out of context".
The group's founder, Sajid Tarar, a Pakistani American, says he fully supports Trump's suggestions on finding a strong vetting mechanism for refugees coming from countries like Syria.
"I am an American myself and I believe it should be about (putting) America first," he says. "I am not in favour of anybody coming here and doing things against America."
Similar sentiments are echoed by Jesse Singh, who has founded the group American Sikhs for Trump.
Mr Singh is the chair of the Maryland Governor's Association on South Asian Affairs. He and Mr Tarar hosted a meeting with a Trump campaign representative recently in Maryland.
He came to the United States from India nearly 30 years ago.
"I don't see that America anymore," says Mr Singh. "So when Trump says make America Great again, I fully agree with him,"
He says Trump has never opposed legal migration and has businesses all over the world, including India.
"I think he understands different cultures and different countries better than any other candidate in the race," says Mr Singh.
Both Mr Singh and Mr Tarar realise the larger Sikh and Muslim communities don't agree with their views.
But they hope that if Mr Trump is the Republican nominee, they may warm up to him.
[h=1]Indiana man arrested for making threats against Donald Trump[/h] http://wishtv.com/2016/05/12/indiana-man-arrested-for-making-threats-against-donald-trump/
Watch Hillary Supporters Say They LOVE Trump's Tax Plan
Until They Find Out It's Trump's - Too Funny
https://www.facebook.com/downstreampolitics/posts/785123618284980
VIDEO: Watch Hillary Supporters Who LOVE Trump's Tax Plan - Downstream Politics
Crooked Hillary Clinton supporters speak out in favor of Trump's tax plan until they find out it's Trump's. Watch and laugh.
DOWNSTREAMPOLITICS.COM|BY JACK KNOX
Until They Find Out It's Trump's - Too Funny
https://www.facebook.com/downstreampolitics/posts/785123618284980
VIDEO: Watch Hillary Supporters Who LOVE Trump's Tax Plan - Downstream Politics
Crooked Hillary Clinton supporters speak out in favor of Trump's tax plan until they find out it's Trump's. Watch and laugh.
DOWNSTREAMPOLITICS.COM|BY JACK KNOX
HA HA!! It's WORKING guys!! LOOK at Amazon stocks!! ���� Keep it up!! #BoycottAmazon
