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astead herndon

What do you mean by that? What did you because what were you intending to communicate?

So I believe, going back to that conversation and what I can remember from it, I believe I was asked, would you vote for Trump, and then would you vote for him if he was convicted? And I said, I dont want to vote for him, but I also dont want to vote for Joe Biden. And then, even if he was convicted, I still wouldnt want to vote for him. But given the choice between the two, thats who I would vote for.

Mm-hmm, so thats how you felt back in October?

Yeah.

Has anything changed for you in the months following?

No, not really. I still dont want to vote for either of those people. But given our phenomenal system, those are the choices that Im given. So between the two of them, yeah, I guess Id have to go for the criminal.

Mm-hmm. A lot of people are in this position of not really liking both of their options. What leads you to Trump in that scenario over Biden?

A couple of things. Number one, under Donald Trump, I had affordable rent, I had affordable cost of living. Under Joe Biden, my cost of living, Im looking at housing, Im looking at inflation. Im looking at these major factors. Im looking at not only those, Im looking at the events happening in Israel and Palestine. And Im seeing the way that were handling those situations.

Do I believe that the Palestine thing would change much with Donald Trump? No, I dont. If anything, I believe it would probably be worse. But looking back at inflation, cost of living, housing, that type of stuff, I have major problems with those. And I believe that Donald Trump, his main goal is to handle that.

So youre saying your decision to go back to Trump over Biden is based in the belief that you were better off economically in those years versus how you feel now?

Yeah.

What did you think of the recent conviction of Trump?

Im not surprised. Im not a big fan of Donald Trumps moral character, I would say, without having personally met the man. I can say what Ive inferred from him. I sincerely doubt his moral character. So if someone came up and saying he had 34 charges of criminal misconduct, I would, in no way, be surprised.

Why, then, is a lack of moral character or even the reality now of a criminal conviction, why is that not disqualifying for you?

Because Im looking at my alternatives. And I see what the alternative has done in the last four years. I believe that thats worse.

Yeah, Im saying, I mean, if its purely about economics or kind of what the reality was while they were in office, where does moral character factor in to you? Does it factor in to you?

Ooh, OK. There we go. If I had the choice between candidates with good moral character that would lead our country into a more prosperous time, that would be my candidate, right? Thats who Im looking for the most. If you were to rank the importance of those two issues, moral character or economic prosperity, I would probably have to go economic prosperity because right now I work too damn hard for too little to be concerned with the exact moral character of the individual that got us there.

Can I ask how you voted in 2020 and in 2016?

I did not.

You did not vote in 2020?

I did not.

Did you vote in 2016?

I did not.

Will you vote this time?

I absolutely will be.

Im curious, what makes you motivated to vote this time that didnt motivate you before?

I suppose I was four and eight years younger, and the situation at hand didnt affect me or affected me less, right? As a 22-year-old, I was far less concerned with my economic well-being. Now, that matters to me a lot more. As Im getting into house purchasing age, as Im getting into needing to deal with all of the repercussions of these decisions myself, now Im much more interested in voting and making sure that I have some type of say in what were going to accomplish in the next four years.

Well, thank you, Dakota.

Yeah, absolutely. No worries.

Have a great day.

You as well. Bye. [MUSIC PLAYING]

Hi, my name is Astead Herndon. Im a reporter with The New York Times. I was looking for Walter Bear.

Yes, how can I help you?

Thank you. I appreciate it. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, Walter? What part of the country youre in, how old you are, what you do for work, things like that.

Im retired, live in Las Vegas.

Retired and live in Las Vegas, awesome. What did you do before you retired?

Oh, I was in real estate.

Are you someone whos considered themselves a Democrat, Republican, independent? Any political label?

Im not a Democrat. Im not a Republican. I only vote for who I believe is going to do the job. I dont care who you represent. If youre going to do the job and represent the people, then Im for you.

Well, let me ask specifically about the last couple of elections. Did you vote in 2020 for the presidential race?

Yes, I always vote.

Mm-hmm. Do you mind telling me who you voted for in 2016 and 2020?

I voted for Obama.

Well, Im asking in 2016, when it was between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, whatd you do?

Oh, I voted for Donald Trump. I did not vote for Hillary.

And what do you do when it was Donald Trump versus Joe Biden four years ago?

I vote for Donald Trump. I didnt vote for Joe Biden.

Well, since you voted for Trump in 2020, Im wondering what has soured you on him a little bit four years later.

Well, it really hasnt soured on that. I dont like some of the things hed been involved in. But then again, it just could be politics, you know?

Anything specifically?

Well, his court cases, you know? But then, the court cases are personal, really.

I was going to ask specifically about that. I think you told The New York Times polling last fall that you would think about voting for Trump, but you might change if he was convicted. What were you thinking at that time, and what changed?

Well, I really wanted to see what was really taking place, to see if he was really guilty of what he had been accused of.

And in this case, you have 34 guilty counts now on falsifying business records. For you, what was your reaction to that verdict?

The falsification that is taking place

I dont know. I really have mixed emotions about it, really.

Well, take me through that. What are your mixed emotions?

Well, is he really guilty? I mean, is this a plan of attack against him? And so I dont really like the way theyre really slamming him, you know? And I guess I really havent kept on top of it like I should have. And sometimes, when you hear the news, its not exactly the way it really should be.

So youre saying that when you mentioned it last time, you were open to seeing what type of evidence emerged, but theres something about this one that doesnt seem to have fully convinced you.

Well, that I havent really been following it.

But you havent really been following this one?

No, I really havent been keeping up with it like I should have. Ive been involved in a lot of other things, you know? Your personal life sometimes comes before everything else. This is politics, and politics is going to be what politics is, and you cant stop it.

I totally understand that, especially since you guys still got some months before the presidential race. Do you think youll catch up on the news? Do you think that the verdict will matter in terms of how you eventually land?

Im still in favor of Donald Trump, really. Something about Donald, I just sometime I think he really represents the stand for the truth of the people. Most politician are known for lying. All they do is all they are is paid liars. They just sit up there and lie. They say one thing and do a complete opposite.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time.

All right. You have a wonderful day.

Yes, you too. Bye.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Read more:
Trump's Guilty. Does Anyone Care? - The New York Times