WASHINGTON – Voters reflected on President Trump’s first year in office and shared what they would like to see from the president in the New Year.
George from Virginia applauded Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“You will be surprised to know my answer: I would say there are two things he has done that I think I would say no one has ever had the guts to be able to say that, and that is moving the capital of Israel to Jerusalem and then building an embassy in Jerusalem,” he told PJM at Union Station last week. “As a man of faith, I think we are all expecting the coming of the Lord and we expect that he would appear in Jerusalem, so to that extent I do applaud him for that.”
He said Trump’s handling of the economy is “a progression from where Obama left off” but that his tweets sometimes get in the way of his message.
“I don’t think government intervention in any way or shape helps the economy, but I would say the economy is moving along. But there are oftentimes when he will step on his own message,” he said, mentioning Trump’s recent North Korea tweet.
Trump wrote, “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.’ Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”
George said Trump should let the sanctions play out instead of tweeting.
“In terms of North Korea, the sanctions are working. He should allow the sanctions to work, and now he comes off and says that he has a bigger bomb, which is, in a way, showboating. Yes, we have a bigger bomb, but at least let diplomacy take its course,” he said.
Katie from Virginia said she is “very concerned” about the potential effect of Trump’s North Korea tweet.
“Very concerned. This is, as you know, not the norm to be tweeting out diplomatic statements,” she said. “It’s very scary to me, especially as someone who lives in the D.C. surrounding area.”
Leah, a D.C. resident, agreed with Katie’s view of Trump’s tweets.
“Yeah, it’s terrifying in the extreme, the North Korea tweets, and it ranges from terrifying to just upsetting with some of the other tweets about climate change not being an issue – because of the cold snap we’ve been having here; meanwhile, it’s snowing in Florida and Georgia. I think there’s a whole range of worrying with the Twitter stuff,” she said.
She reflected on Trump’s job performance in 2017.
“For 2017, I think there were a lot of low points from instituting the global gag rule for aid in foreign countries to rolling back the Paris agreement and all other kinds of environmental regulations. It was just not a great year for that and very disheartening,” she said.
Leah said that in 2018 a priority should be “putting climate change back on the agenda.”
“I know his administration just kind of rescinded it from the national security agenda, but if they could put it back on there and acknowledge climate change as the national security issue that it is, that would be huge,” she added. “And being a young person living in D.C., I think it’s a pretty disheartening time to see what this administration has been doing.”
Katie also expressed disappointment about Trump’s job performance on environmental issues.
“I am thoroughly disappointed. The environmental rollbacks for me have been the biggest disappointment and I don’t see any sign of him letting up on that,” she said.
She added that in 2018, Trump should “take more consideration for the environment and also the U.S. economy and growth – I think those two go hand-in-hand, so I would like him to move forward with that.”
Jeanette, an Illinois resident, said was “dissatisfied” with Trump’s job performance in his first year. She explained that she would like Trump to be less “indecisive and rude” in 2018 and “change his attitude towards people.”
“Hurting people’s feelings for no reason, saying negative things” are problems, she said, adding that she hopes Trump shows more “compassion” for women. “He seems to have no compassion whatsoever. Whatever is in the top of his mouth just comes out automatically without thinking about it.”
A Virginia resident who asked to remain anonymous said he hopes Trump does more for “women’s rights” in 2018 and does not repeal Obamacare.
“They tried to stop Obamacare, yes, that’s a big thing for us. I disagree with that,” he said.
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