President Trump’s leadership is undergoing a stress test. The coronavirus pandemic illuminates how partisan divides can affect both how people perceive a threat and what they think should be done in the face of such a formidable challenge.
Trump voters — the people who feel deeply seen and represented by the president — view their president as under attack. The foes include Democrats, the virus’s relentless spread and, particularly, China. I spoke with several Trump supporters about how they see their government’s leadership in this time of crisis.
Maurice Rosenstein owns Casa Do Brazil, a steakhouse in College Point, Tex. He voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 and plans to vote for him again in 2020.
“He’s a strong willed and minded man,” Mr. Rosenstein said. “I think he’s done a great job with our economy.”
“He does not have the polish as a politician, but I think he has done a great job,” Mr. Rosenstein added about the coronavirus response. He pointed toward shutting down the travel from China as a positive step. “The man’s just got guts,” he added. “He will go down in history as a very good president in my eyes.”
Mr. Rosenstein’s restaurant has, in his words, been “devastated” by the pandemic restrictions. His staff of 64 is down to 20. The takeout business doesn’t generate a profit.
While lauding the president’s response to the coronavirus, he directed most of his ire toward China.
“I don’t think I want to buy anything again from China, even if I’ve got to pay double,” he said. “These people created a pandemic that I don’t think we’ll ever get out of 100 percent, probably in my lifetime. It’s terrible.”
Michael Ricciardi owns Global Cleaning USA, a commercial cleaning company in Toms River, N.J. Many of his regular customers have suspended services because their buildings are shut down, though his company is still doing specialty deep-cleans.
“I think that him shutting down the travel from China early was a huge help as far as trying to contain it,” Mr. Ricciardi said. “It was just alarming to see how quick this thing spread.”
Mr. Ricciardi believes that the coronavirus is “a man-made virus by China during an election year.”
He said that he would like to see the president “hold China more responsible” for the coronavirus. “To me this is biochemical warfare.”
“China needs to be investigated and they need to be held responsible if found there’s any evidence that they did this on purpose,” he added.
“The way I see it, you can’t call a guy a racist for stopping travel to China a month ago and do a 360 flip a month later and say he didn’t stop travel soon enough. You’re checkmated as far as I’m concerned. You already made yourself look like a dummy by doing that,” Mr. Ricciardi said.
Jarrett Stern is a hospital administrator in Littleton, N.H. He has worked in health care for 25 years. Mr. Stern said that he has been “pretty impressed” with the federal government’s response to the coronavirus. “It’s always easier to sit back and armchair quarterback what they did.”
He pointed to passing the stimulus package and “advising states as to how to minimize the spread of the virus” as positive steps. He said he has also been impressed with the daily White House briefings.
Jane Murphy Timken is the chairwoman of the Republican Party in Ohio. “I think the president has been doing a phenomenal job,” she said. “He has assembled a fantastic team of leaders who are experts in their field.”
The president, she said, “is a take-action person. He’s not going to be sitting in his office. He’s going to be on the phone.”
“He has high expectations for people who work for him and they’re doing the best to deliver,” Ms. Timken said. “The attitude is all hands on deck. Everyone needs to step up.”
“For him the priority is the health and safety of the American people,” she added. “His America First is proving correct. We need to take care of the United States and its citizens.”
Ms. Timken criticized Democrats for being critical of the federal government at this time. “There’s a tendency to attack. I’ve seen Democrats tend to do this, and I don’t think it bodes well. When the American public is losing their jobs and concerned about their health and safety, partisan attacks don’t go over well. I think there will be a backlash to that,” she said.
“The American people love the president because he is a fighter and he is fighting for them,” Ms. Timken added.
Devi Lockwood (@devi_lockwood) is a fellow in the Opinion section.
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