Trump broke through in this patch of Democratic Colorado. Here’s what voters say about his first 100 days
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Pueblo County has long been one of Colorado’s Democratic strongholds, but
His victory was narrow, 390 votes out of nearly 79,000 cast.
But the political dynamic — economic anxiety, personal aggrievement and a sense of being forgotten by Washington and its political establishment — reflect the larger forces that helped land Trump in the White House.
As the 100-day benchmark neared, Pueblo voters assessed his performance so far.
I think he's making a change. The core of America is the entrepreneur, the small-business man. I think he has true concern for that.
—
Greg Smith , 59, owner Greenlight Tavern and a fallen-away Democrat
If we’re not going to follow what’s been in place forever, people’s lives are going to change. And a lot of them don’t want things to change.
— Steve Carson, 61, retired welder and self-described independent
I have very low standards. If we are not in a war in four years, I would be very pleasantly surprised.
— Sal Pace, 40, Democratic Pueblo County Commissioner
That’s what we needed, badly. If
Hillary [Clinton ] had won, the Supreme Court would be loaded with her type and we’d be down the tubes for 50 more years.— Tom Ready, 73, Republican dentist, on the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch
He has no more ties to Russia than [
President] Obama or [Hillary] Clinton. They're just desperate, grasping at straws, anything to trip up the president.— Marla Reichert, 52, Pueblo County Republican Party chairwoman
I would like to see Donald Trump come up with a plan or something that goes beyond next Tuesday, that goes beyond the hot-button tweet of the day or whatever.
— Aaron Elkins, 36, insurance agent and political independent
Overall I'm pleased. [But] I think his advisors need to tell him, ‘Mr. President, before you make a statement make sure we have the facts, it’s not something you picked up off Facebook or off Twitter or whatever.'
— Ron Robley, 76, retired sporting goods salesman and a Republican
What I like is that I think he stood up to some of our enemies and, frankly, in the Obama years it was much more of a subservient presidency.
— Bill Wilcoxson, 64, Republican and owner of a Buick-Cadillac-GMC dealership in Pueblo
It's like he gets himself into one mess after another.
— Steve Nawrocki, 71, Pueblo Democratic City Councilman
He's done fairly well so far. Better than the media gives him credit for. I'm not sure, though, I really care for a president that tweets.
— Rod Slyhoff, 62, Republican president of the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce
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