‘God bless him’ or ‘destruction’? Charlotte-area voters react to another Trump presidency

Charlotte area voters, like many across America, are feeling a range of emotions in reaction to Donald Trump’s reelection as president of the United States.

The Charlotte Observer interviewed two dozen voters in Charlotte and surrounding counties to understand their feelings about another Trump presidency.

For some, Trump’s win is a new path forward — a road to an America that is great again. For many, fear and sorrow have overcome them as they brace for what another Trump presidency might bring.

John Milton enjoyed his morning cup of coffee outside of Crossroads Coffee House in Waxhaw on Wednesday looking forward to a future under President Donald Trump.

“When Trump was president things were better,” he said, keeping a steady back and forth rhythm in a rocking chair. “The border was under control, we weren’t in any wars, I had more money in my pocket, groceries were cheaper. I feel like it’s good.”

Milton has been a long-time supporter of Trump and likes what he said is Trump’s mentality of running the country like a business. When he had the opportunity to vote for Trump for a third time, the choice was easy.

Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t do enough to separate herself from Joe Biden’s campaign and Milton felt she was too inexperienced to become the leader of the free world, he said.

“Trump’s not in it for the money. He’s got plenty of money. Why put himself through this?” Milton asked. “... I truly believe he’s doing this for the good of this country. God bless him.”

A few steps away inside the coffee shop, barista Megan Burns, 19, stood behind the counter full of worry.

As a first-time voter, she had women’s reproductive rights top of mind. Burns said she has a medical condition that would make a potential pregnancy for her high risk, and she wanted to ensure access to proper care was protected.

The impacts of Trump’s victory could be dangerous, she said.

“I feel like it could bring a lot of destruction,” she said. “Especially knowing that he can’t run again. So he knows he can do what he wants.”

‘We know what’s coming’

Erin Snead — another first time voter and freshman at Johnson C. Smith University — wanted to cast her vote for the person she felt would best protect women’s health and marginalized communities.

The 18-year-old, who cast her first ballot for Vice President Harris, said she was scared for her LGBTQ friends — and herself — when she woke up to Trump’s victory speech. She feared her birth control could be taken away under Trump’s presidency.

“I saw my friend and all it took was one look,” she said, ”to know that everything was changing immediately.”

Megan Tucker, 27, and Ashley Dixon, 26, of Monroe were too nervous to watch the play-by-play coverage of the race. Waking up to the final results left them feeling heavy with grief and dread.

Trump’s win in North Carolina — 51 percent to 48 percent — wasn’t a shock, but they hoped the rest of the country would rally around Harris, especially having already experienced a Trump presidency. But Trump won easily and will likely finish with more than 300 electoral votes.

Seeing the results brought back memories of Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016 — another effort for Democrats to elect the first female president, Tucker said.

“In 2016, we had anger over him winning over Hillary Clinton. This time we have great sadness because we had four years of him,” she said. “We know what’s coming,”

Harris wasn’t a perfect candidate for Sophia Parker, 22, but that didn’t make it a difficult choice.

Women – especially women of color – have to live “under a microscope” with Trump back in power, she said. This same microscope hurt Harris’s chances at the ballot box, Parker said.

“No matter what she could have done, it would have been him,” she said.

Voters like Major Mills of east Charlotte felt the choice for Harris was a no-brainer as did much of Mecklenburg County, which backed Harris over Trump 66 percent to 33 percent. To wake up and see Trump had been declared the winner left him in disbelief.

“We lack morals,” he said of the country. People are simply lazy and didn’t recognize that Harris was more qualified, he said.

Mills, 39, couldn’t believe Trump was on the ballot again after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. But now everything is in question: NATO, the Supreme Court and people’s rights, he said.

Jonathan Tennial, JCSU’s coordinator for spiritual life and community service, said he was “hopeful the generation behind us is not negatively harmed.”

“I can’t stomach four years of hate, of divisiveness,” he said.

Tennial, who voted for Harris, said he felt aligned with her in a handful of ways. They’re both Black. They’re both graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. They’re people without children (although Harris is a step-mother) who are still concerned about future generations.

“It was more about them than it was about me,” Tennial said about his 4-year-old niece and four nephews.

Tears collected above his beard.

Looking forward to changes of new leadership

Eleanor Abbott of Monroe stopped into a local shop to do some shopping Wednesday morning. She was thrilled about Trump’s win and said the abortion issue made her choice easy.

“If my mama believed in abortion I wouldn’t be here,” she said. “And if I believed in abortion, my daughter wouldn’t be here.”

Just before he hopped on the light rail in NoDa, Brandon Tetter said he was happy that Trump won after seeing “inflation of everything,” he said.

“Even if you look at sodas… That’s pretty dramatic for something that’s simple and taken for granted every day,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to the changes that are yet to come in the next four years.”

Some people like Thalia Shepard, 56, of Lowell weren’t convinced enough to cast their ballot for Trump or Harris. Shepard said she’s mainly concerned about whether Trump has what it takes to bring the country together.

“There’s no unity. I’m nervous that people are so divided,” she said. “He’s equally obnoxious to all groups.”

Bradley Smith from the Elizabeth area declined to say whom he voted for but said he leans conservative. The Biden administration let people down over the last four years, he said.

“I’m not sure Trump won it as much as they lost it,” he said.

The Democratic Party needs to reflect, he said, as they haven’t been listening to voters.

“They’re in an echo chamber right now, and they’re simply not addressing the needs of the American people,” he said.

Reporters Catherine Muccigrosso and Joe Marusak contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 12:29 PM.