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WASHINGTON - Wednesday marked one year since Donald J. Trump was elected President of the United States. While the anniversary comes a day after major gains for Democrats in state races in New Jersey and Virginia, many Trump supporters are sticking by their man.
On 5@6:30, Jim Lokay and Shawn Yancy were joined by Julie Kelly, a contributor for National Review Online and American Greatness, who detailed her continuing support for the Trump agenda, while conceding the administration still has much work to do to fulfill many of its campaign promises.
"Most of the people I know voted for Donald Trump. They feel they made the right choice. They'd do it again. There are some legitimate concerns about his approach, but there are a lot of accomplishments that are being overlooked," said Kelly.
"You can't argue with the fact he was the key driving force in the Democratic turnout," she added. "I think the Republican base is demoralized. You haven't seen action on health care reform or immigration reform."
Kelly also suggested there's more grassroots anger towards Congressional Republicans for not pushing through key elements of the Trump agenda. As they prepare for a battle on tax reform, she sees possibility for a victory."
"I hope so. For someone like me, tax reform is more important. It can be done incrementally. If they can get an early win, I hope they're not misreading what's happening. A lot of this is aimed at them." I am hoping they can get that resolved, and if the Democrats want to argue with that, that's their choice.
Kelly, who is based in suburban Chicago, also suggested that Democrats may have a problem with an anti-Trump plank come the 2018 midterms, as many of the states that were formerly reliable Democratic votes proved otherwise. States like Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio flipped red for Trump, and in addition to Illinois, they currently have Republican governors.
"The anti-Trump hatred is not going to be a winning message out here for the Democrats, they're going to have to come up with their own policies themselves. So maybe this is a message for everyone."