Almost everyone in the world has an opinion about Donald Trump, whether it is good or bad. I interviewed four students at Wakefield High School about their feelings on Trump: Will Dennis (WD); Alys Jones (AJ); Spencer Holly (SH); and Valentina Sandoval (VS). Half of them are Republican and half of them are Democrats. Even though they all have different views I asked them all the same questions and these are their responses.

Will Dennis, Alys Jones, Spencer Holly, Valentina Sandoval, Students

Question: Are you a  Republican, Democrat, or an Independent?

Answers:

WD: Most of my views aline with Republican.

AJ: Democrat.

SH: I vote Republican.

VS: At the DMV I registered as an Independent but I have more Democratic views.

Question: What are your views on President Trump as a whole?

Answers:

WD:  No one is perfect. I don’t follow him blindly, but I agree with most of his values and beliefs.

AJ: I think he is an incompetent president.

SH:  As a person, I think he is slimy sometimes. In his personal life, he’s done a lot of ungentleman-like things. Out of the candidates we had to select from, he was the lesser of the two evils.

VS:  I think that some of his policies are really effective. For example, the economy is at a really good point right now. I think a lot of his policies work and are really helpful to America through a business standpoint. However, I don’t really agree with or appreciate his views on things like immigration. A lot of the things that he says aren’t factual and can be very hurtful and I don’t like that.

Question: What are things that he can improve on?

Answers:

WD:  Being more presentable in front of other world leaders and be a good representation of America and America’s government.

AJ:  The general presentation of himself, speaking more professionally and being more careful about how he presents us to the rest of the world.

SH:  Listening to his cabinet members, because he is very stubborn.  

VS:  For one, the way that he talks to people and the way he talks about people. I think it’s really hurtful and he makes it seem like one group of people need to be blamed for being who they are. If he could just change how he treats people, I feel like that could be a big improvement.

Question: What do you like about him?

Answers:

WD:  I like his stances on abortion, gun control and immigration.

AJ:  He sticks to his morals, which is something I can admire. I don’t agree with his morals but he does stick to them.

SH:  I really like all of his economic policies and everything he’s doing to create jobs.

VS:  Some of his stances are really smart. How he handles certain things in the business world and the economy are really good.   

Question: Do you think that some people don’t give him the benefit of the doubt; as in do you think people are too judgemental of him?

Answers:

WD:  Any party is going to be judgemental of the other candidates, win or lose. I do think that if someone is the president we shouldn’t spend all of our time attacking them and give them some time to improve even if we don’t have the same ideals. We should rally behind the president, Democrat or Republican.

AJ:  No, I think the persona he presents gives people plenty of options to see how he is.

SH:  I do. I think that was reflected in the popular vote. So many people went out to vote against him just because they hated the idea of Donald Trump as president.

VS:  I think America is so divided right now. I do think that there are people who just don’t like him because it’s [President] Trump. I think it’s so important to be educated and to have all your facts before you make a decision about someone.

Question: Do you think some people give him too much credit?

Answers:

WD:  Yes, I think some people do just follow him blindly and whatever he says goes but there are people like that on both sides.  

AJ:  Definitely.

SH:  I do, I think a lot of people are praising him for what he says he is going to and not the things that he has already done.  

VS:  His campaign slogan was ‘Make America Great Again’ but I think America has always been great.