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Asheville, North Carolina – To call this city of 95,000 a progressive bastion in the purple state is a significant understatement. This is the kind of place that would elect Mayor Che Guevera due to the fact that he is a cisgender man.
So how does President Donald Trump react when a newly minted town not only shows up in an area devastated by Hurricane Helen, but millions in federal aid? ? Well, it's complicated.
Josh was a great example. At 41 years old, he works at a brewery with three locations. The one on the hill in Asheville survived, the hill near the river took 2 feet of water and is salvageable, the one closest to the river took 20 feet of water and its future is uncertain is.
'Big relief': NC resident describes meeting with Trump after feeling 'ignored' hurricane
Although Josh is not a fan of Trump, he also understands how much the area needs it and offered a somewhat difficult thank you for the bad Orange Man's visit.
“We weren't going to protest him,” he told me. “In times like these, we have to look at the politics of the past.”
The people of Asheville are struggling to return to normal life and are helping each other out. (Fox News Digital)
That may attack Trump supporters as strength, but believe me when I say this represents change. It's not that Josh doesn't believe Trump is a fascist or an existential threat to the republic, but the magnitude of the need in Western North Carolina is precedent-setting.
It was a similar story for Corey, a self-proclaimed anarchist who moved from Maine to North Carolina a few weeks before the storm. Now his truck is totaled. But after a month of volunteering as a welder, Reconstruction has kept him busy and employed.
“He made me miss George W. Bush and I f–ckin' hated George W. Bush,” Corey told me when the subject of Trump came up.
When I pressed Corey on why he has such disdain for Trump, I heard a familiar answer. “He's arrogant, he's a bully, I don't like him.” Still, he went on to say, “I need help.”
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump load up the Air Force for a trip to North Carolina and California, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
This was the general attitude around town. The harshest criticism I heard about Trump and his visit was that it might be divisive or politicize a situation where people put politics aside. But even that critique seemed half-hearted.
No doubt, Asheville hippies won't be trading ethically sourced Grateful Dead T-shirts for MAGA hats anytime soon. But they also don't have Trump burning purple hair, which is new and welcome.
“I never thought it would turn out like this,” Josh told me. “I have family members that we don't even talk to anymore because of politics. It's never been like that.”
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I asked if he thought it was changing. After all, I pointed out, Trump can't run again and he said “for now.” But he took away my point and acknowledged that Democrats are rolling back some of their more excessive positions and moving toward the center.
When it comes to politics, it is too early to say that the country's temperature is cooling. For almost a decade, hating Donald Trump has literally been a defining personality trait for many people. That won't change on a dime, but it will eventually.
Trump wasn't being heralded as a hero here in Asheville, as he was just 25 minutes away in rural and red Swannanoa on Friday, but there wasn't much evidence that he was being held up as a villain either.
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Trump supporters were rightly elated and fascinated by the president's first week of hyperactivity, from the president's draconian orders and almost overwhelming transparency after four years of sleepy and silent Joe Biden. Ta.
But perhaps the quieter story is that Trump won't face the headwinds of resistance this time around, as he has in the past. Instead, many Trump haters, who still hate Trump, seem to be giving him a chance.
Is this a turn in our country's corner? Can we go back to the time when we judge people based on their words and actions rather than who they voted for? i hope so. That's because, frankly, America is unstoppable.
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