Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

Millions have clogged sidewalks, streets and boulevards to protest his policies and executive actions. Two of his cabinet picks are out — one before he was even confirmed — and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are calling for probes of his campaign and administration’s ties to Russia.

And that’s just in the first month of Donald Trump’s presidency.

But in Monmouth and Ocean counties, where Trump won by a landslide, the new shine hasn’t dulled a bit among Trump supporters. There is no buyer's remorse, no second thoughts, no urgent pleas for do-overs — no matter all the "told you so" remonstrations from the MSNBC crowd.

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“President Trump showed determination, conviction, how to operate a country,” said David Cohen, 73, of Long Branch, who when asked to "grade" his confidence in Trump, on a scale of 1 to 10, awarded him with "20." He added: “America is a business, just like a business that Donald Trump owns. How anybody could have doubted his ability to put it together in a unified form is beyond me.”

MORE: What drew NJ voters to Donald Trump?

A pair of Trump campaign signs are still posted on a tree in his front yard.

The Asbury Park Press checked in with a half-dozen Trump supporters from the Shore, including three Republican National Convention delegates. Each gave the president strong marks and largely approved of his controversial moves on immigration, cabinet picks and even what one called his habit to "tweet before he thinks."

"I signed up for Twitter just because he's on it," said Jackson resident Stephen De Marzo, 54, who compared the tweets to former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "fireside chats" during World War II.

The local sampling, however discrete, is representative of Trump's GOP support across the nation.

About 86 percent of Republicans approved of Trump in a recent Gallup Poll. Democrats? Not so much. Just 12 percent of Democrats approve of his job performance so far; 41 percent of independents approved.

Overall, his approval rating sat at 52 percent. The survey, however, was taken before this week's revelations over the Trump team's alleged dealings with Russia.

MORE: 3 Trump supporters, 3 protesters sound off

Ocean County was Trump's biggest county in New Jersey, where he received more than 179,000 votes. His large victory in Monmouth County — he received 167,000 votes, third among counties — helped propel local Republican incumbent candidates to re-election.

Among the Trump faithful, what little dissent there has been centers around the subtle aspects of Trump’s policies and overall presidency. “Calm down. Calm down,” said Toms River Councilman Brian Kubiel, 56, asked by a reporter what advice he would offer Trump.

“You want to speak the truth, but you can’t just react to every decision someone makes. You’re not the CEO of your company. You’re the CEO of the United States.”

The confidence shown by Trump supporters barely cracked over the last two days, when National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned and labor secretary appointee Andrew Puzder pulled his nomination.

MORE: Unanswered questions after Flynn resignation

Flynn resigned on Tuesday amid reports that he discussed lifting U.S. sanctions against Russia — this while President Obama still occupied the White House — and lied when he told Vice President Mike Pence that he had not. In a series of tweets, Trump blamed the intelligence community for leaking word of the disclosures.

"The thing that troubles me is the perception that the vice president didn't have full knowledge and disclosure of all the facts," said Sean Gertner, 51, a Jackson attorney and RNC delegate. "Even folks who disagree with him on policy respect him as a person. And the idea that he may have gone ahead on something without full knowledge? That's troubling."

But Cohen agreed with Trump, blaming Flynn's resignation on leaks aiming to "bring Trump down."

"Why are we condemning Flynn? He dedicated his life to supporting the United States of America. Why should we condemn him without knowing more," Cohen said.

PROFILE: A Republican in blue Long Branch

De Marzo, who owns a greenhouse in town, said firing Flynn was "giving into the crazy liberal left." And like Cohen, De Marzo doesn't believe that Flynn "jeopardized the country in any way, shape or form."

"I would not have shown that weakness," De Marzo said. "You asked for his (Flynn's) resignation for what purpose? To give the wolves some meat so they can feel like they won and defuse the situation?"

Within the first minute of talking to a Press reporter, most Trump voters brought up President Barack Obama's 2011 action to stop processing Iraqi refugee requests for six months.

De Marzo believes the only reason there's outrage about Trump's executive action — which put a 90 day hold on immigrants from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya — is because Trump intends on enforcing it.

And he's OK with that.

"I just can't understand why somebody would be against safety," he said. "You have these people who have openly shouted, 'Death to America,' openly shouted all these bad things about what we stand for and you want to bring them into the country."

Trump's executive order temporarily banning immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries has been stayed on appeal to the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

MORE: How much will the wall cost?

But while every supporter the Press spoke to agreed with Trump's travel ban in theory, a few criticized the restrictions placed on those already with visas — including Green Card holders — and refugees. Trump's executive order banned Syrian refugees from entering the country indefinitely.

"We have to have a heart. We have to open our heart to refugees," said Wall resident M. Claire French, 78, a convention delegate and former Monmouth County clerk. "We haven't always done that, but I think — especially the people who come here from other countries and enjoy the American way of life — they're the people we're proud of. We need people like that for the future of our country."

But De Marzo said the idea of "turning the other cheek" and "forgiving and forgetting" didn't outweigh his national security fears.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're talking about a different culture, a different ideology. They don't want to become us, they want us to become them and I can't do that," he said.

MORE: What's The Boss think about Trump's actions?

The same is true of Trump's long-anticipated plan to build a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico. The wall was a focal point of his very first presidential campaign event, and chants of "build the wall" echoed at his rallies during the last six months of the race.

"There should be a wall wherever they can put it," said Freehold Township resident Dolores Albrecht, 69. "Make it a little harder. They can come in now because everything is so open."

But the narrative has slowly moved away from a single wall and become more metaphorical, Gertner said. While there should be a wall in some locations, a combination of technology and utilizing or beefing up law enforcement in other areas would work just as well.

Kubiel said he supported the idea of the wall but was against simply generalizing illegal immigrants as anything other than that: "Just because they climb the wall, that doesn't mean they're a criminal," he said. "But I believe we have to protect our borders. It takes me hours to go through customs in other countries. I don't scream or roll my eyes. It's a process."

MORE: Trump's immigration actions scare NJ advocates

The other wall-related issue that has shifted: Who is going to pay for it? Trump's call-and-response routine with rally crowds often ended with them screaming "Mexico," but the president has since said that Congress would front the money and push for reimbursement later.

"As far as the American people paying for it? I think we have better things to do with our money," French said.

That quibble aside, French said, she remains staunchly in the Trump camp.

"He's doing just great," she said. "He's done more than any president in that short period of time. He wants to do so much and I think he's trying his best to live up to every promise he made in the campaign."

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com