By Donovan McNeal, Lauren Nutall, Christian Marshall, Tia Pitts and Davis Dailey
Howard University News Service
Dirty Water claims it was the only bar in Washington, D.C., to host a watch party on election night for Donald Trump, attracting visitors from all over the world who came to witness the historic night.
Coming off the Associated Press announcement that Trump obtained 292 electoral votes, officially declaring him the victor of the 2024 presidential election, some of his supporters explained why they cast their ballot for him.
A 2,500-mile Trek for Trump
Tim Mellema, 50, and Kari Mellema-Carson, 63, traveled over 2,500 miles from Washington state to the H Street Corridor to watch the presidential election coverage.
Wearing star-spangled-themed attire, the couple shared what they like most about the 78-year-old Republican nominee, who hosted his own watch party at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
Mellema said that he was drawn to Trump by “his ability to keep us from world wars, his ability to keep fuel prices down, which keeps inflation down by allowing drilling and gas exploration, and his border policies, immigration policies — just all around fairly conservative.”
“And I feel like the economy has been one of the best since he was president,” Carson added. “And I love him because he says what he’s going to do, and he does it.”
Three Perspectives From George Washington University
Similarly, Aaron Chen, Seth Alonzo and Andy Dong — all 18 years old — are George Washington University students who believe that Trump’s strict border patrol policies are his biggest strengths.
“I just believe Trump is better on immigration,” Chen said. “He’s pledged to lock down the border, and I believe the Democrats are just more lax. I mean, just look at the immigration numbers over the years. Compare the administration’s levels of immigration crossing over is historic in this administration, but under Trump, it was a bit less. So that’s a product of their policy.”
Alonzo echoed similar feelings. “Donald Trump has earned my support, not only through immigration, but he’s an avid supporter of not funding the Russia-Ukraine war,” he said.
In his Nov. 6 address to a West Palm, Florida, crowd Trump said: “They said, ‘He will start a war.’ I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop the wars.”
“I think we need to start spending less money on exterior issues and supporting our internal issues as a country,” Alonzo continued. “We lack on so many things in-house that need to be taken care of before we are OK to help the rest of the world.”
Dong agreed. “I think that he does better with the border, with the immigration issues and the LGBTQ issues,” he said.
An Independent Voter
In addition to Republican voters who support Trump’s campaign, the Dirty Water bar also brought in unaffiliated voters.
Josh Kaluwasha, an independent voter, shared that he cast his ballot for Trump. He explained that his decision came down to comparing the Biden administration with Trump’s.
Kaluwasha noted that Trump’s stance on tax cuts played a significant role in his choice, adding that he believes the media often misrepresents who benefits from those cuts.
“I think the tax cuts are advertised as being for the one percent, but I believe they ultimately trickle down to middle-class and lower-income people,” he said.
Support From Foreigners
Outside of his domestic base, Trump’s policies and approaches have also resonated with foreigners living in America.
On Nov. 5, couple Johnny Szani and Emma Frayberg from Hungary attend a Trump watch party at the Dirty Water bar in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Joshua Taylor)
Johnny Szani, a Hungarian American and Presidential Advance Associate for the Trump 2024 campaign, supports Trump despite being unable to vote in this year’s election due to his recent arrival to the United States.
“I think his economic policy is particularly interesting to me,” Szani said. “Gas prices are also incredibly important to me since we drive a lot to the gym. … I’m a big foreign policy guy so his foreign policy really resonates with me.”
Ariel Alon, an Israeli citizen who emigrated to America with his wife spoke positively of Trump’s policy and campaign. Alon stated that he is drawn to Trump’s political platform because “my nature is very conservative.” He emphasized that his main issue in America is the war culture and he feels that Trump will find a solution.
“It’s really, really frightening, and I am going to raise my kids here,” Alon said.
Additionally, Trump’s economic policies and his stance on illegal immigration resonate with Alon. He said that this even extends to the homelessness and he believes that a large number of unhoused individuals illegally inhabit America.
“Everywhere you go you can see homelessness, and you can see the majority of them are not true Americans or [are] here illegally.”
As an immigrant who applied for U.S. citizenship, Alon feels that illegal immigrants are exploiting American citizens.
“I sympathize with Americans who feel like they are taking their jobs, they are taking their places, they’re jacking the rent, because estimates say there are 5 million immigrants coming here in the last year,” Alon.
According to the Center for Migration Studies, there was an increase of about 800,000 undocumented migrants in July 2023 compared to the previous year. However, the 11.7 million population of undocumented migrants in the United States is still below the 12 million peak recorded in 2008.
In terms of his view on foreign policy, Alon stated that “Trump is the best president supporter of Israel. He moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to signify that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.” He continued to explain that a large population of Israel supports Trump. “We have a town in the Golan named Town Trump.”
According to the BBC, on June 16, 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a new settlement in the occupied Golan Heights dubbed “Trump Heights” in honor of Donald Trump.
Donovan McNeal, Lauren Nutall, Christian Marshall, Tia Pitts and Davis Dailey are reporters for HUNewsService.com.
