Politics

Wantagh, Seaford react to Trump victory

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While some Wantagh and Seaford residents said that they were happy to see Donald Trump elected president of the United States last week, they also expressed concern about the increasing political divide nationwide. 

Lisa Tyson, president of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, thinks that this year’s contentious presidential election between Trump and Sec. Hillary Clinton has been an educational experience for many Americans — and not necessarily in a good way.

“I think it has opened up a lot of people to realize that they’re very different from their neighbors in their way of thinking,” she said. “I think that’s a bad thing at this point unless we have some honest conversation about empathy and believing other people’s feelings and why they’re feeling that way.”

Danielle Scopinich, a 33-year-old Seaford resident, said she voted for Trump last Tuesday. Noting that her husband is a New York City police officer, she said she thought Trump would restore “law and order,” adding that she feels that “the police do a very good job protecting their citizens, and I think they are under too much scrutiny and being forced to not do their jobs in the way they were trained.”

Referencing Trump’s staunch detractors, Scopinich said that Trump will face the challenge of bringing the country together once he takes office. “Each side needs to come together now as a whole,” she added. “Each side needs to accept the results of the election because this is a democratic process. The people have spoken and we need to move forward.”

Hempstead Town Counciwoman Erin King Sweeney, a Republican from Wantagh, said she had grave reservations about Trump early on in the primary season and that she does not agree with all of his views.  However, she said that she “came to respect his determination to stand up for himself and fight back no matter the odds” and voted for him.

“In my gut, I thought Trump was resonating with a broad section of voters,” she said. “There is no doubt that Trump is a flawed person — like we all are — but he captured people’s imaginations [by saying] that they no longer have to put up with rising taxes, burdensome regulations and this general sense that America’s best days were in the rearview mirror…. I am hopeful that we can move past all the vitriol of the campaign and focus on rebuilding this nation.”

Sweeney said that she thinks that Trump needs to galvanize his supporters early on and demonstrate to those who voted for Clinton that “he is a president for all the people.” She added that she’s hopeful that the president-elect will “bring American exceptionalism, common sense and efficiency back into vogue” while proving his skeptics wrong by “rebuilding the inner-cities and destroy this myth that Republicans do not care about minority communities.”

Mario Angieri, 24, of Wantagh, said that he also voted for Trump. He explained that while he thinks “breaking down the divides in Washington” and getting everyone to work together will be challenging for Trump, he thinks that the president-elect will bring about change. 

 “When I think Hillary, I think Obama, and I feared we would turn too liberal [while] being led by Democrats,” he said. “I’m not a conservative — I consider myself a moderate — but I feel this country is moving way too far to the left, way too fast.”

Claire Krussmann, a 66-year-old Wantagh resident, also said that she did not trust Clinton. “I know Trump is crazy, but I’d rather see a crazy man than see a thief in power,” she said. “I was very surprised — and also frightened — by this election.”

Angieri said that he is anxious to see how Trump handles being a diplomat — and if he delivers some of the changes he promised while campaigning. He also had some mixed feelings about the turnout for the election. 

“It didn’t seem like he had this much support, but his supporters stayed quiet and then came out on Election Day,” he explained. “I’m happy because I think it’s four more years to hold on to our core values of America.”

Erik Hawkins contributed to this story.