The strange power of Donald Trump

Trump supporters
Donald Trump supporters waited outside in freezing temperatures for hours after being shut out of his debate boycott event (Caroline Kenny/MEDILL)

By Alison Martin

DAVENPORT, Iowa — For some undecided Iowa voters, the head and heart don’t agree. While Margaret Osborne listens attentively to Chris Christie at a town hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa, her heart can’t forget the passion and excitement of Donald Trump.

Every four years, Osborne and her mother, Patricia, attend rallies and town hall meetings for all types of presidential candidates, hoping to see as many as possible before heading to the caucuses. Before Christie, Osborne and her mother saw Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

“We love politics,” she said.

Going into the Trump rally, Osborne did not know what to expect. The snippets she saw on TV painted a portrait of Trump as brash, arrogant, a bit of a blowhard.

On stage, a different Trump revealed himself.

This Trump smiled, cracked jokes and appeared genuinely concerned with the fate of the country. To Osborne, here was a man so patriotic that he joined the presidential race just to fix what he saw was wrong with the United States.

Campaign 2016
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“What you hear is what he is,” she said, calling him “much more down-to-earth than on TV.” She found the rally “informative, engaging and enlightening.”

The crowd screamed and chanted. Osborne said she never felt more patriotic or proud of her country in her life.

Towards the end of the rally, Trump walked close to where Osborne and her mother were standing. She shouted out to him, “Mr. Trump, America needs you!” And in a quiet aside that only she may have heard, he replied,  “Well, we’re going to try.”

So, given her delight, what logic could overpower the heart’s passion? Osborne reconsidered her feelings when Trump called for a ban on admitting Muslims to the United States. Though her head and heart have yet to fully reconcile, perhaps Trump’s anti-Muslim policy may be what finally brings them together – in support of another candidate.

Photo at top: Donald Trump supporters waited outside in freezing temperatures for hours after being shut out of his debate boycott event (Caroline Kenny/MEDILL)