Members of the New York Young Republican Club watched the debate from a Lower East Side bar, where they weighed in on abortion, immigration and more

The debate watch party hosted by the New York Young Republican Club on Wednesday night was quite disconcerting.



For one thing, it was the first Donald Trump-oriented event I’ve been to where nobody was wearing a novelty hat, or a pin-badge accusing Hillary Clinton of war crimes. There was no one shouting “build that wall” at the television.

People even shushed each other when cheers or chatter threatened to drown out the candidates.

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But the lack of Trump accoutrements, and the genteel atmosphere, didn’t mean the young Republicans were liberal.

“I can never see myself voting for a pro-abortion candidate,” said Steven Ridge, 31. He had been whooping as Trump professed his opposition to Roe v Wade, the US supreme court ruling that established a woman’s right to an abortion.

Ridge, who said he was “born and raised” in Brooklyn, described himself as a libertarian, but conservative on social issues.

“There were 6,000 troops killed in Iraq. That’s the number of babies aborted in two days,” Ridge said. “Is there anything more important than human life?”

Ridge said he supported the death penalty. “Those two positions are not in conflict. They are consistent,” he said. “It means we respect life and we’re prepared to give the death penalty to stop people killing each other.”

Despite supporting Trump on abortion, Ridge, who said he worked in the media, described the Republican nominee as “a jerk”.

“I completely despise this man,” he said. Ridge said he was voting for Trump because he believed the supreme court was “a major issue”. He said he believed Trump would nominate more socially conservative justices.

The New York Young Republican Club had hired out the Katra Lounge, in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, to host the watch party. Katra Lounge, which has a 2.5-star average rating on Yelp, seemed to be more of a dance spot than a forum for political debate.

On its Facebook page the bar was marketing an event on Friday night where women were entitled to free vodka between 11pm and midnight.

There was no free vodka on Wednesday. A bottle of Stella Artois cost $9, according to a man I asked. About 60 young Republicans – the club defines young as between 18 and 40 years old – had gathered at Katra Lounge.

Rachel Olson, who said she was in her late 30s, was among the attendees. As we watched the middle part of the debate she said she wanted to see more focus on the issues.

“I think we all know what their characters are at this point,” Olson said. Like Ridge, she said she was a “social conservative”. She said she liked that Trump had provided a list of potential supreme court nominees, and that they were all pro-life.

Olson, a marketing manager, said she was conservative on fiscal matters too. We watched Clinton talk about raising the minimum wage. Olson was not in favor.

“My mother goes to a gym in San Diego that is threatening to shut down because of higher minimum wage laws. So ultimately it cuts jobs,” she said.

A little later, Trump criticized the media, as is his wont. It earned a few boos – swiftly shushed – but Olson said the criticism was valid.

“I absolutely agree with that,” she said.

• This article was amended on 20 October 2016 to remove quotes from a person who later said on social media that he had deceived the reporter.

