Guardian reporters in Minnesota, Alaska and New York asked right-leaning women for their thoughts on Trump’s comments about Alicia Machado

Anoka, Minnesota: ‘He tells it like it is’

Anoka, Minnesota, may be only a 35-minute drive from liberal downtown Minneapolis, but this is Michele Bachmann country, part of a string of northern ex-urban suburbs that are solidly Republican.

Alicia Machado, Miss Universe weight-shamed by Trump, speaks out for Clinton Read more

These days, it’s also predominantly Trump country. The female Trump supporters the Guardian spoke to here vigorously defended their candidate as the one that will be best for women, and ultimately the country. They were unconcerned about his comments on women and weight or Alicia Machado.

“Even though he goes on rampages and he says dumb things sometimes, I really believe he will fight for this country,” says Kim Stone, 41 the general manager of 201 Tavern, a downtown bar. “I think Hillary Clinton is a bully. I think she is, versus Trump, an evil person. I just want to see somebody finally get something done, and he will. I think he has a lot to learn, but I think that when he gets into office, he’ll do what he says he’s going to do, and maybe we need somebody like that, and not an extra politician who has been in politics all these years.”

Kathy Fossber, 66, a retired Medicare specialist, sat in the leafy back patio of a hip coffee shop called the Avant Garden, catching up with a friend who knitted throughout the conversation.

“Clinton is bringing this up, but it happened many, many years ago. Why is she doing this? (...) Maybe back then, at that time, he felt she was putting on weight, and of course it made her mad, but he calls it like it is,” she says.

“She represents Miss Universe, and she still did even after the time was up, so she had that obligation to keep herself as she was when she won the contest. She was representing women at that time,” she added.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jody Christensen. Photograph: Jared Goyette

Jody Christensen, 47, a business owner, wore a black jacket and a headband adorned with skulls as she prepared to jump on the back of a motorcycle.

“I don’t think it matters. I really don’t give a shit about Miss Universe. That’s not what politics are about. We should be talking about protecting our country, and taxes.”

In her view, Trump would be the better candidate for women.

“He would be great for women because he believes in business, and he has top executives in his company that are women. You want to work for a living? Then he’s the person you want. You want to be on welfare? Then you should vote for Hillary Clinton.”

Neely Miarka, 43, worked the pull tab booth at another downtown bar, selling lottery tickets.

“I think it was taken out of context. I don’t think he was trying to say, ‘hey, you’re a fat slob’. Hillary isn’t all that great either, she’s not standing up for women. Who says Hillary is going to, just because she is one? We’ve given these politicians how many years to try? Hundreds and hundreds of years, and they haven’t.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amy Domino. Photograph: Jared Goyette

For Amy Domino, a 36-year-old waitress at the same bar, Trump’s comments were inconsequential.

“I think he says a lot of off color things. It doesn’t really matter. It’s his views. I think it’s perfectly fine that he says how he feels. It’s just who he is. I support his other views as far as being a Republican, and pro-gun.”

Trump Tower, New York: ‘No women in the White House’

On a rainy Friday in New York, Joyce, Rene and Jessica, three friends on vacation from Georgia and Florida, trekked through the bad weather to check out Trump Tower. “We made it a point to come see this,” said Joyce, who works for her local church. “We’ve been walking for blocks,” Jessica, who also works for the church, added.

All Trump supporters, the three friends weren’t bothered by the Republican nominee’s sometimes harsh statements about women.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Marie and Katy with their husbands. Photograph: Nicole Puglise

“People always say things they shouldn’t say, and just because he’s in the spotlight, they’re going to bring it all out,” Jessica said. “We all regret things that we’ve said or done. But I was raised old school and it’s called forgiveness and nobody’s perfect.”

“Who cares about Rosie O’Donnell or Miss Universe not being skinny?” she added.

While the friends said they don’t hate Clinton, Rene said they don’t believe women should be in the White House. “The three P’s,” Rene said. “Police officers, preachers or presidents.” Joyce, however, said she would have voted for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

While she didn’t watch the debate on Monday, Joyce thought that Clinton bringing up Trump’s comments about Machado was keeping undecided voters from “looking at the big picture”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Michelle and Terry. Photograph: Nicole Puglise

Marie and Katy, two retired elementary school teachers from south-east Texas, also thought Clinton bringing up Trump’s past comments was unfair. On vacation in New York, they decided to stop in the Trump Cafe for lunch.

“She has done far worse towards women than he ever has,” said Marie, 72, adding she was glad he “got away” from making comments about women’s appearances.

Her husband, Clovis, added: “This world is not about women’s weight. It’s about who is going to do the best for our country.” Both women agreed.

She has done far worse towards women than he ever has Marie

Trump’s comments bothered Michelle, 49, a homemaker from Florida and an undecided voter. “I don’t like it. I didn’t like it when he made them,” she said when asked about Trump’s past remarks about women. “And to hear more things about him, like the pageant contestant – I had never heard that before – that even turns me off more so.”

She thought Trump was crazy for saying Clinton doesn’t have a presidential look. “It has nothing to do with what you look like. If that was the case, Bill Clinton would still be in office,” she joked.

Michelle often debates politics with her sister, Terry, 57, who will be voting for Clinton. Terry laughed, not unkindly, when she heard her sister talk about Trump’s comments. “Are you sure you don’t know who you’re voting for?” she said.

Anchorage, Alaska: ‘He needs to control his mouth’

At Hi-Rollers Hair Salon in Anchorage, Amie Haakenson, 45, was waiting for her color to set. She’s a registered Republican planning on voting for Trump. His comments about weight weren’t wise, she said, but there are larger issues in the election to consider.

“I am an overweight, middle-aged woman. I could really care less about the (weight) comment,” she said. She was more bothered by the fact Trump didn’t seem to be reining in inappropriate comments as she’d hoped he would as he became a more seasoned candidate. “He needs to control his mouth, that’s what he needs to do,” she said. “To be quite honest, I say things that are inappropriate sometimes too, like everyone else, but I try not to let them come out when I am the face of an organization, much less the face of the free world.”



A presidency isn’t just about one person, it’s about the group of people that they bring with them, she said.

On the campus of University of Alaska in Fairbanks, social work professor Kim Swisher, 43, a life-long moderate Republican, said she believes strongly in second amendment rights and noted that her mother campaigned for Nixon. But Trump’s weight comments pushed her over the edge.

“The weight thing concerns me,” she said. “I’m a professional woman, and I’m a size 16. What his comments have done for me, they have affirmed that due to my size, I would be invalid in a world where Trump leads.”

She was particularly disappointed in the Republican party for not offering voters a better choice. “This is not the Republican party I have voted for in the past,” she said.

Peggy Treadway, 30, works at an employment agency in Anchorage. In the office on Friday, she described herself as an outdoorsy woman who fishes in the summer and rides snow mobiles in the winter.

“I’ve always voted Republican, always, but this year I don’t really know,” she said. Trump should never have brought up a woman’s weight, she said. “Honestly, it just adds to the pile of stones that makes me not really like him as much. It’s another strike against him. I don’t how many strikes it will take before I say enough is enough. I don’t really like the alternative, though.”

Outside the Safeway grocery store in Wasilla on Friday, Lisa Smith, 43, an independent voter and mother of four foster children, said she’d gained weight due to a medication she was taking after spending many years as a size four. And for that reason, Trump’s comments felt especially cruel.

“I’m considered obese. What is it, Miss Piggy, he called one of those contestants?” she said. Women and girls whose bodies don’t fit Trump’s standards have a hard enough time. “To hear somebody called that, it makes our self-esteem even worse,” she said.