Roberts County: A Year in the Most Pro-Trump Town

[Applause] [Music] there is a certainty to life in Roberts County here in the Texas Panhandle the uninterrupted sky above the sweeping plains around generation after generation very little has changed this one downtown stoplight always flashes yellow on one side and red on the other and you can almost set your watch to the trains they race through town so often people here say they don't even notice them here in Roberts County the population is around 900 and in the 2016 election almost all of them voted for Donald Trump 95 percent that was the highest County percentage in the entire country so the rest of the world took notice the press descended on this quiet community and then they all left we however came back again and again over the last year see we wanted to spend time with folks on the ground here to really understand what matters to them and to see what they thought about president Trump's first year so one month after he took office we came here and met Mitchell Locke I was born here raised here and my great great grandfather helped found the town it's a small town everybody knows each other it's a slow life and I enjoy that Mitchell is a fifth-generation cattle rancher in this family business father and son work side by side hard because you like where you draw the line from like father son to employer employee like he called me at six o'clock this morning wanting to talk about work and the lochs ranch like others in this area is vast this cows do not look accepted their land stretches thousands of acres and it's worth millions of dollars but money is still tight most of what they earn goes back into the business another chunk goes to pay down debt and there's only enough for Mitchell to pull a salary but if President Trump can push through tax cuts all that could change Hillary Clinton presidency might have destroyed our business she would have raised the tax and we already struggled to pay the taxes my dad 72 years old and when he dies we would have had to pay the value of 50 percent of our ranch something that he's worked his entire life for to pass down to his kids we're trying to make you look pretty deer pierced so Mitchell voted for Trump a man he says he didn't even like but who promised to get rid of the estate tax I think he's a buffoon I think he's a blowhard his policies will help us more way more than what Hillary Clinton sort of voting for him helped me in my own out and that's who I have to look out for me my family my parents my community Mitchell introduced us to life here in Roberts County and what's important to the people who actually live here but that's just one man's opinion there were 549 other voters in the county so we'll come back to find out if his family and neighbors feel the same way that he so we are back in Roberts County Texas last time we were here it had been one month in the Trump presidency now it's June so it's been almost five months and a lot has happened we will soon begin the construction of a great great wall along our southern border is you an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration from places where it cannot safely occur ideal and for such this way this is a repeal and a replace of Obamacare President Trump has informed FBI director James Comey that he has been terminated as he wasn't doing a good job Robert mama the former director the FBI has been appointed to be the special counsel looking in to Russia's interference in the 2016 elections the entire thing has been a witch-hunt and there is no collusion [Music] it's the first weekend of June which means time for the annual cow calling festival in Miami the only town in Roberts County and yes that is the right way to say it there's food family fun and a competition to imitate the old-fashioned way to call cattle this is Steve Porter he was one of last year's Champion's Steve has lived in the Texas Panhandle his entire life he served in the military married his college sweetheart and raised his kids in the neighboring town of Pampa everybody around here knows Steve and everybody knows he loves to sing and let the rest of the now retired he spends most of his time tending his farm in Roberts County he really liked Donald Trump's message and he really disliked Hillary Clinton his dog buddy agrees buddy what do you think about Hillary Hillary I feel that he is a strong leader and he is putting forth a forceful image of our country reform immigration reform our medical system reform our tax system were you a fan of mr. Trump's plan to build the physical wall not really I just never have believed that that wall is going to work you know I don't necessarily agree with everything he's done what do you disagree with I disagree with him doing those tweets without asking some of his smart people he ran on this idea of banning people from entering the country if they were Muslim you agree with that it's not the most popular religion with me because what it's done is it's put its women down to a third rate you know that's not the religion as a whole right I mean there are millions of Muslims right here in America who don't practice it that way sure my first roommate in college was full-blown Islamic mm-hmm and we its name was follows we called him fuzz and every once a while you know he'd throw out his little magic carpet there between our beds and its parent and well I called it his magic carpet you know I love first he told me all about his world of Saudi Arabia and when I saw those planes excuse me when I saw those planes fly into those buildings and they said that they were Muslims and I thought that can't be people that are Fuzzy's people they are the they gotta be like him I was shocked [Music] five minutes from Steve Porter's house across the train tracks we meet Sonia Lopez nice to meet you Sonia emigrated from Mexico in 2005 to join her then-boyfriend they got married soon after their son Noel is now a junior at the local high school Sonia says her family is one of just two Mexican American families in town moving here she says was tough but worth it I came and I was like thinking if I like it over there my English wasn't no good like now to speak any English just a little bit my English was a big wall and after I started learning was wonderful Sonia runs her own cleaning business she's not a US citizen yet so she couldn't vote in the last election but her husband could and he voted for Donald Trump for me and my opinion and I guess is the opinion on all the people here Hillary Clinton did a show to masha honesty you know people here they are people that they have their own business a cow business or cattle business and they want the country growing economic you know when you heard mr. Trump say things about Mexican people come coming from Mexico nobody talked bad about anybody their only concern to me is if he separated families because a strong country is because they have a good family and he is your president but I pray for him too to change his heart and his mind a little bit for a good so back when Mitchell told us that everyone here knows each other he wasn't kidding Sonja's house is about five minutes that way right here is where some of her clients Erin and Chad live now Aaron is Mitchell's sister and she's married to Chad he's a rancher like Mitchell but he's also the mayor of Miami he got all that Chad and Erin breeding we're already raising teens Austyn and Blake Chad's kids from a previous marriage then eight weeks ago these little guys twins Lillian and Wyatt arrived so the whole town has been chipping in our community is great they brought us meals for I think it was closer to a month we've heard so much from people here about community where does that community beginner end I think everybody in this country is genuinely a good person that would go out and help somebody in need and would bend over backwards to put food on a family's table if they needed it but they completely resent being told you're gonna give me so much money so I can go over here and give these people this money okay so this is the itemized that was just for me so money is definitely on Chad and Erin's minds and being able to afford health care for their growing family on a teacher's salary has Aaron stressed out education funding is not what it was so school districts we're not getting our yearly raises but our health insurance is going up every year we're going broke paying health care premiums I mean broke I can't be a stay-at-home mom because I have to work for insurance so yes Chad and Erin say cheaper health care would be great so with tax cuts and an estate tax repeal that's why they voted for Trump but they're not exactly hanging on every headline to see what happens I mean there are some things wrong like this again and you know change the channel what makes you go like the commis stuff like I really don't care it doesn't affect me yeah really it's boring to me kind of like Days of Our Lives you can watch it this week and then if you missed the whole week and start over next week you really haven't missed anything [Music] his sister may not be tracking the ups and downs of the news cycle under President Trump but Mitchell is more tuned in to be appointed a Supreme Court justice yes I like corsets do you I do why do you like him I don't like activist judges and I don't think that he will be a very activist judge we haven't seen tax reform yet No are you worried if we won't see it because that was one of the main reasons no no I'm not worth it because if he doesn't do it I mean he's an idiot if he doesn't start forcing the issue five months in tax reform still looms large for Mitchell and a lot of folks here in Roberts County specifically they're banking on Trump's pledge to ditch the estate tax whether or not they can keep their land in the family they say depends on that there's a lot to this lifestyle that people want to pass on to their kids and it's hard when you have this outside entity that wants to come constantly pulling pieces away from you if you've heard or read anything about the estate tax which some also call the death tax you probably think it only applies to the very rich and for the most part you'd be right but the locks on paper are part of that group because of the value of this land they're one of fewer than a hundred small businesses and farms across our entire country affected by this one specific tax a tax that the family says could devastate their legacy that night three generations gather for dinner at Mitchell's house he and his wife Ashley love doting on their baby niece and nephew for years they've been trying to start their own family we've been dealing with infertility and we are going to have to pay out of pocket if we want to continue and our insurance won't cover that kind of thing it could cost us up to twenty-five thousand dollars out-of-pocket it's hard on her more than me we're really focused on just kind of each other so Mitchell and Ashley keep hoping for their own family one day Mitchell's father hopes he'll one day have something to leave them I think it affects our families here the estate tax I'd like to see the death tax repeal just puts a burden on on our family and everything we want for pay taxes to get where we are is it important to you that the next generation of locks and and and all your grandchildren on both sides stay here well I guess at that time we'll leave them wanting the latest on them doing whatever they wanted this but it will always be here but to make sure of that and settle the future of their family business the locks need President Trump to make good on his campaign promise to repeal the estate tax in the months ahead they'll see if he can deliver [Music] it's fall when we make our next trip back to Roberts County we tried to return sooner but things got busy you solemnly swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God national security advisor Michael Flynn gon press secretary Sean Spicer gone chief of staff Reince Priebus gone and finally today Steve Bannon Thank You McCain he casts his vote with a thumbs down violent clashes between white nationalists and counter protesters in the streets of Charlottesville I think this blame on both sides when you love to see one of these NFL owners to say get that son of AB up the field right now out he's fired we are finally ending the crushing the horrible the unfair the state tax so fall of course means football and football is huge here in Texas but in small towns like Miami they don't have enough players to feel the full team so they play six-man it's just six players aside for teams faster games shorter game and tonight is football night in Roberts County when people here mentioned community this is the kind of thing they're talking about it is very cold and very windy tonight and the Miami Warriors are losing very badly but people here show up for each other and faith like football brings them together for years every Thursday morning Steve Porter joins his friends and neighbors for this men's fellowship breakfast in Pampa the next town over we thank you for this land that we live in and the freedom that we have it's like a book club support group and Bible study in one only with coffee bacon and today a New York Times op-ed by David Brooks the Christian churches have been behind most of the big social movements in American history they invite me to join the conversation did everyone here vote for Trump yeah we appreciate what the Trump's trying to do and yet at the same time we cringe at some of the things they're coming out of the White House there's not a man here who thinks Donald Trump is perfect no you share these the articles and you're talking about current events does everyone share the same political views - I use we're disappointed in some of our Republicans who don't seem to stand for those core values mr. Trump seems to be able to get himself in trouble almost every day not because he's not standing for core values but if the media would stay out of it it'd be fine we asked Steve what he thought about all the senior staffers who had already left the Trump White House all within his first year they don't seem to fit in to the way he wants to do things I think that's their problem because going into the White House and working for the president they need to realize that they need to do it his way even if he hasn't seen the policies he wants yet Steve says he's glad the president is taking a stand on issues like the NFL protests but that's the feelings of a great deal of Americans that see guys making a minimum of 14 million dollars playing football and won't show respect or kneeled to the national anthem me too yes I feel that way they need to show respect and honor the flag and honor our national anthem over at Chad's ranch we hear the same thing somebody had to say we need to stand for the national anthem the way I see it is they're protesting the anthem even though he's in line with the President on this issue Chad wishes the Trump would spend less time tweeting and more time pushing through his campaign promises like getting rid of the estate tax that means that my kids can continue living and doing whatever they want to on the ranch I don't want them to have to go sell half of the ranch just to be able to pay for the taxes on it understanding why people here put their hope in Donald Trump requires a better understanding of what it means to live in Roberts County life for most here does not track with the rest of America Roberts County is older and whiter than the rest of the country better educated than the rest of the country the average household here earns more than the rest of the country stories that trigger a sea change in other parts of America don't even create a ripple out here take for example the removal of Confederate statutes in 2017 across the country a debate raged over whether they should remain or be removed Roberts County has its own Confederate monuments right in front of the courthouse most people we talked to here didn't even know about it not far from the courthouse we meet up with Sonia so cheers to you thank you thank you so much for having me here working for me like my knees now she's working with me so life is good for Sonia but she's bothered she says by President Trump's plan to end daca the deferred action for child arrivals program her fears about families being separated are coming true and to this day she says she's never talked to her neighbors about how the president's past remarks about Mexican immigrants affect her do you think that they know it bothers you because they know me you know they know they know I don't like they talk bad about Mexican people when I talk to my costumers so people in the Schwartz or and the post office they know I mean is it's not fair when what like when somebody told me Edie you were swimming in the river someone joked with you that you swim across a river to come and I say you know why you have the privilege to born here yeah I didn't I'm the same like you I want some better for my kids I want good education I want they have a good future is not fair because you didn't ask God didn't give you a citizenship because you were better than me 10 months into this administration Sonya is keeping her faith in President Trump we didn't more help and I'm still praying for that let's see mama say mama mama a few minutes away at Aaron's house life is consumed by these babies Lillian and Wyatt are now six months old like that first day to go back oh yeah oh yeah I cried yeah I felt guilty you know did you really yeah we had health insurance so how much worse is it 200 more month so kind I mean you feel yeah oh yeah so if I was even to ask you what the latest in the Russia investigation is you would say I would say I have no idea no idea at all if I have a choice at night am I gonna watch the news or Netflix probably Netflix you know it's it's more relaxing so far she says the president seems to be heading in the right direction I think that right now his priority is good we'll see where it goes tax reform if not and if it doesn't happen then I won't vote for him again I mean it's kind of as easy as that over at her brother's house that night Mitchell and Ashley our closing one chapter of their lives and that's what we'll inject her with for the last time are you excited the shots the uncertainty the emotional toll they all led to a happy ending and they're having twins nothing really mattered anymore just the feeling burned around us and we still would have been kind of doing and it's everything's okay after so many knows and failed attempts I we just in the back of our mind we just never thought anything would work right now it's just nice to take a breath before two babies are in the world and those babies will be coming in to a complicated world you mentioned this last time we talked to you that you felt like there was a lot of like the same kind of coverage I'm burned out on it too because it's been talked about so much Trump roast rump roast and nothing came out of it nothing happened if Trump gets arrested or if he gets impeached part charges filed against him for some kind of collusion with Russia Russia you know what if it doesn't affect me I don't care like I would get up the next morning and I would do the same thing I did the day before so do you still see him in the same way as anything no no no just crossing my fingers that something good comes out of it tax cuts or something like that at the same time you know a lot of things that are being said and are already being done coming out of Washington they may not affect you every day but they affect a lot of other people right like if they end the daca program you're talking about 800,000 people whose lives have already been thrown into incredible uncertainty and I don't doubt that say that Hillary had been elected and she would have raised in taxes on high-income earners and all that and we would have had to sell our land to the point where it wasn't sustainable for two families and where what we've been trying to build for six generations was over should those people that were now those daca people should they be concerned about us in that scenario would they have been concerned about me if the if the roles were reversed I have to try and take care of me in my own and that's kind of what it comes down to and it's coming down to the wire the Republicans are hard at work on a tax plan but can they give the president one big win before the end of his first year been special counsel robert muller announcing charges against three president Trump's former advisors these massive tax cuts will be rocket fuel little Rocket Man Rocket field for the American pika Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn you see him entering the courthouse has pleaded guilty dozens of women have come forward accusing Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and harassment I will be resigning as a member of the United States Senate can you stand here right now and say without a doubt 100% certainty that the more than dozen women who have come forward to accuse this president of misconduct are lying the president has directly responded and said that these allegations are false it's the second week of December when we return to Roberts County christmas is just around the corner and Sonia Lopez is ready for the holidays her faith is still at the heart of everything she does because all the people just think he's Santa Claus on Christmas there's no Santa Claus this is you this is baby Jesus to came to the earth but she says that her prayers for President Trump have not yet been answered over this past year the stories of deportations the uncertainty around daca they weigh heavily on Sonia for application for citizenship her papers as she calls them are still in the pipeline the Texas they are working in the Texas everybody talk about the Texas but they don't do the same with the people they don't have papers I mean it is really sad because some people like me just we came to work aqui Mira in the meantime she's grateful that her business continues to grow her son Noel chips in from time to time it's for him Sonia says that she works as hard as she does that she remains as hopeful as she does so what about President Trump makes you think that he will help because I know he's worried about the economy and the people that need our papers if they are legal they can do more for the country um I have my expectations high to the Trump government he's three years more and I know he's going to change his mind about it [Music] President Trump and the Republicans on the verge of passing that massive reform over at the quarters home Steve his wife Martha and buddy sit down to watch the Morning News also a big welcome to are we good morning George over the last year Steve has been quick to defend his president his wife we learned is an even bigger Trump fan a few weeks ago she took a trip to New York I got to pick one thing in mind was to go to Trump Tower that was the one place he wanted to - the one place I wanted to go the porter's stay on top of the national headlines but they take issue with how some stories are reported like Special Counsel Robert Mulder's investigation one channel says he's gonna fire him on Tuesday and one channel says he can't fire him so who do you believe I don't think he's gonna fire you you don't know what about you I think he's going to leave him alone and I think he's going to find that there's no collusion between Trump the prior to the election and the Russians I don't think there's any what do you call it smoking gun if they would just leave him alone the greatness in him would come out but when it comes to the stories of sexual misconduct the porters aren't sure who to support the women speaking up or the men who stand accused that includes President Trump I'm sure with his wealth he could get anybody he wanted but so that means you don't believe them it's pretty hard to just take people at face value nowadays so I'll say again you don't believe problem that Martha and I have with this is that in this country we've always believed that people were innocent until proven guilty in a court of law do you think that those women's claims should be investigated absolutely oh absolutely that's part of due process of law but if that's true about the women who've accused the president I separate it from being present he is to be the leader of the United States they knew that supposedly before they elected him sure did but you knew that as well so I do you you were able to set it aside and not make it a factor well I knew what Hillary's husband was occasion asking you about who actually won I figured he had the ability to make America great again I think he's had a hard year but I think things are better Martha heads out for the day Steve and I keep chatting over coffee as someone for whom your core Christian values are so important how do you reconcile that with some of the things that this president says and does our presidents have been men that have faults and failures and the one we have right now is no different from ones we've had before he probably is in a way like John Wayne John Wayne said never say you're sorry it's a sign of weakness Steve knows it's been a tough first year for the president he says it's been a tough year for Trump supporters too and he shares it's been a tough year for him personally we talk about politics we've talked about history we've talked about race we've talked about sexism what's that been like for you all during this year I've been battling physical ailment so that when y'all came it made me stop thinking about myself and start thinking about bigger things himself is that a good thing oh I think it's a very good thing you know everybody's saying 2017 is the worst year ever and I'm like I kind of take offense to that because it's the best year for furry you know my babies were born this year and it's been the best year so Aaron's keeping up with a full-time job two growing babies and a few headlines when she can I get it I get it through Facebook for Aaron's husband Chad the holidays are crunch time on the ranch he's stepping into his busiest stretch of the year the food truck the radio quit working in the feed truck I Drive your really cool I have absolutely no idea what's going on but there's a story that hits home for Aaron as a young woman she had her own me to moment I've been in that situation I know how it feels and I know how it feels to not to be scared to say something and it seems like in politics and everywhere else it doesn't they're not held accountable so well now there have been members of Congress right yeah resigned worst out yeah yes I think it's great I don't think that they should be and especially able to hold an office like that that's very powerful and when you're discussing pervert better terms you know well by the same token do you think that the allegations against the president should be investigated yeah but the thing is like if they're investigated like what's gonna happen probably nothing but very soon something could happen with another issue Aaron cares about tax reform could very well happen by Christmas that's what we really wanted this whole time is our big issue my wife and I along with our family are people of faith people that you know try to do good that have to get up every morning and work our tails off all day long to make things happen and make ends meet life's not easy here in the Texas Panhandle are you so glad to be done with us no my ball I enjoy your company over at Mitchell and Ashley's meanwhile the expecting parents are enjoying a little nesting these are your oh yes oh really so and some of them are David's that we found like this one no way yeah Mitchell's dads yes Ashley is now just over four months pregnant the twins are due in May there's a boy so there might be some we don't know now is if the second one's a girl or it was two boys I felt a little empty you know when watching all your friends and family have children around you and everything and then you not being able to do it and I know my wife felt this even worse than I did and it finally happened and so now it's pretty nice they're relieved Mitchell says that their struggle to start a family is finally behind them but there's no relief in sight when it comes to the future of the family business back in Washington DC Congress is set to see through president Trump's promise of sweeping tax reform over the next two days this is what happens tax cuts and Jobs Act is passed we are making America great again you haven't heard back but the plan they pass doesn't repeal the estate tax a move that would have secured Mitchell and his family's future instead it doubles the exemption and only for eight years at least we're trying I guess I don't put that much faith in them actually anything happening with it your family business it's still not safe no it's no more safe today than it was before you voted mm-hmm how does that make you feel like it has for the last 15 years we've been trying to figure it out we'll keep dealing with it the way we have been trying to figure out how we're gonna get past it would you still vote for him today knowing everything you know I've done other things out I got a Supreme Court candidate a lot reductions in regulations and things like that and things haven't gotten works for us and they would have gotten worse the other way but when you look back just at the first year how you've processed it what comes to mind it's like well nothing's burned down yet like you know like it's caught fire yet we're still okay I mean we'll see Shion next year go [Music] so what did we see during our year in Roberts County well a tight-knit community in a quiet and frankly beautiful corner of the country where the generations that came before matters just as much as the ones ahead see that's what led so many people here to vote for Donald Trump in the first place he offered them a chance to preserve this way of life or possibly even make it a little bit better president Trump's first year may have bent uncertainty for some communities in America but the fact is this wasn't one of them life in Roberts County doesn't change much over time and for people who live here that suits them just fine [Music] [Music] [Music] you [Music] you [Music] you

Channel: undefined

Views: 2,902,892

Rating: 4.335721 out of 5

Keywords: Roberts County, pro Trump, Donald Trump, Texas, 2016 election, vote, voters, republican, documentary, ABC News, year anniversary, president, Trump country, Hillary Clinton, politics

Id: 38DY30I73lg

Length: 39min 13sec (2353 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 24 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Pretty nice piece. Are they kind of ignorant in general in that town? Yeah, but not as bad as I thought they’d be. Are people ignorant everywhere? Yeah. That guy made a fair point when he said he has to look out for his family. I feel like the narrative should be that the 2 party system created a no win situation for the country.

[u/UnderwaterPenguin]

This was an absolutely great watch.

I definitely lean left of center and I think I was the exact intended audience for this - a look at small town folk that voted for Trump and to put a human face on them. These are people that I'd love to hang with if I met at a bar or on the street. Really makes you think anytime you paint an entire group as being XYZ ("all bernie voters are bros", "all trump voters are idiots") that you're being manipulated on any given side by this incorrect image of people.

That being said, I still fundamentally disagree with the philosophy of Trump and the philosophy of these people. But it's nice to see their side of the story.

[u/letsgocrazy]

I liked the son - and then I noticed at about 15:28 he's wearing a t-shirt saying "I am the Kwisatz Haderach" with a little worm on it.

I liked him better after that.