On country roads outside Bloomington, houses are decorated with American flags and eagle statues. As people drive by, they may also see signs for Donald Trump and Mike Pence with the slogan “Make American Great Again.”
Phyllis Henry, a Bloomington resident, has signs for Trump, Trey Hollingsworth for Indiana district 9 and Eric Holcomb for governor in her yard. She said she continues to support Trump despite his lewd comments because she was raised a conservative. She said the alleged sexual assault accusations are fabricated by the Democratic Party to worsen public opinion of Trump. However, Henry said she was offended by the comments in the “Access Hollywood” clip. But she said the comments came out 11 years ago, and since then Trump has become a better person.
“I believe people can change,” Henry said. “Everybody makes mistakes. We’re human.”
Since the release of the tape of Donald Trump making lewd comments and bragging about sexual assault, Trump has lost support across the board and particularly among women.
Forty percent of women are less likely to support Trump after viewing the hot-mic tape, and 16 percent of Republican women are less likely to support him after the release of the tape, according to an ABC News and Washington Post poll.
Henry said Trump’s mistakes from decades ago will come up because he is in the spotlight, but her own will not because she is not a public figure. Trump deserves the same treatment as any other person because in 2005 when he made the comments he did not know that he would be running for political office one day, she said.
Henry said Trump is not perfect. However, she added Hillary Clinton is by far worse because she is not trustworthy. She said Trump’s status as an outsider and his business experience is what the United States needs right now.
“The country needs a fresh start,” Henry said.
Bloomington resident Glen Sparks said Trump has no tact, but still has his vote.
Andrea Sparks, a Bloomington resident, said at the end of the day the country is in an economic slump, and Trump is the man to fix it. Nevertheless, she said she is nervous Trump will make mistakes when it comes to the military and foreign policy, in particular.
Trump may get too aggressive with the United States’ enemies and get the country into another war, Andrea said.
Sara Skrabalak, a Bloomington resident with signs for Clinton, governor candidate John Gregg and other Democratic Party candidates in her yard, said she was not surprised by Trump’s comments in the “Access Hollywood” clip based on the previous discriminatory comments he had made. However, as a woman and a Democrat, she said she is frustrated.
Trump is not concerned about people, Skrabalak said. Americans are economically hurting, and Trump’s rise to power reflects the extent of economic hurt.
Americans are looking a candidate who speaks to their concerns and frustrations, Skrabalak said. She said she hopes their frustrations can be channeled through more constructive political dialogue because she does not want her country to have a president who brags about sexual assault.
Trump’s language and people’s dismissal of the comments are hurting people, she said.
“I hope people might take a moment to pause and think about people who are victims of sexual assault,” Skrabalak said.
As a woman, Andrea said she is not pleased with his comments. However, she is unsure if the sexual assault claims are true. The Democratic Party may have paid these women to say Trump assaulted them, she said.
Andrea said though she thinks Trump is a loud mouth, she will still vote for him because Clinton is a hypocrite who is not truly for women.
Andrea said if her husband did what Bill Clinton did to his wife, she would not keep him around. She said she does not like that Bill is involved in the campaign and continues to support his wife.
“I won’t vote for her,” Andrea said. “That’s for darn sure. I don’t respect her.”
