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| Driving In for the Swearing-In: A Trump Voter Heads to Washington | Driving In for the Swearing-In: A Trump Voter Heads to Washington |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Updated: 1:30 p.m. | |
| The New York Times is driving to Friday’s inauguration with supporters of President-elect Donald J. Trump. On Wednesday: A woman from Massachusetts, the bluest state east of the Mississippi. On Thursday: A man from West Virginia, the reddest state in the East. | The New York Times is driving to Friday’s inauguration with supporters of President-elect Donald J. Trump. On Wednesday: A woman from Massachusetts, the bluest state east of the Mississippi. On Thursday: A man from West Virginia, the reddest state in the East. |
| Dianna Ploss, 53, is a volunteer organizer for Mr. Trump, a turn of fate that surprised even her — a longtime Democrat who until recently was uninterested in politics. | Dianna Ploss, 53, is a volunteer organizer for Mr. Trump, a turn of fate that surprised even her — a longtime Democrat who until recently was uninterested in politics. |
| I am a national correspondent for The Times, and I’m riding with a photographer in the back seat of a Dodge pickup driven by Dianna’s friend Scott Hayes, a landscaper. | I am a national correspondent for The Times, and I’m riding with a photographer in the back seat of a Dodge pickup driven by Dianna’s friend Scott Hayes, a landscaper. |
| We’re talking about life, Mr. Trump and the future of America. We’re listening to Abba, and I’ve already gotten carsick. And I’ll be filing updates throughout our trip. SABRINA TAVERNISE | We’re talking about life, Mr. Trump and the future of America. We’re listening to Abba, and I’ve already gotten carsick. And I’ll be filing updates throughout our trip. SABRINA TAVERNISE |
| _____ | _____ |
| GLOUCESTER, Mass., 10:27 a.m.: I just wrapped up a Facebook Live video introduction to Dianna and Scott, and we’re about to pull out for the drive to Washington. Watch it here: | GLOUCESTER, Mass., 10:27 a.m.: I just wrapped up a Facebook Live video introduction to Dianna and Scott, and we’re about to pull out for the drive to Washington. Watch it here: |
| Miles driven: 0. Miles to go: 470. | Miles driven: 0. Miles to go: 470. |
| _____ | _____ |
| NEAR WAKEFIELD, Mass., 10:52 a.m.: Scott steers his black Dodge pick up onto Route 128. It’s raining. The refrigerator trucks, which Scott says are probably loaded with fish, spray water onto our windshield. An American flag is stuck jauntily in an air vent on the dashboard. We whizz by brown marshes and an office park. | NEAR WAKEFIELD, Mass., 10:52 a.m.: Scott steers his black Dodge pick up onto Route 128. It’s raining. The refrigerator trucks, which Scott says are probably loaded with fish, spray water onto our windshield. An American flag is stuck jauntily in an air vent on the dashboard. We whizz by brown marshes and an office park. |
| Dianna realizes something about the snacks. | Dianna realizes something about the snacks. |
| “What did you do with the cookies?” she asks Scott. | “What did you do with the cookies?” she asks Scott. |
| “Ah, I packed them,” he says. | “Ah, I packed them,” he says. |
| “I wanted to keep them for my father, can we turn around?” she says. | “I wanted to keep them for my father, can we turn around?” she says. |
| “Um,” he says. | “Um,” he says. |
| “That was a joke,” she says. | “That was a joke,” she says. |
| She starts chiding the photographer: | She starts chiding the photographer: |
| “10 hours, George, 10 hours!” she says. “Just let that sink in!” | “10 hours, George, 10 hours!” she says. “Just let that sink in!” |
| Miles driven: 22. Miles to go: 448. | Miles driven: 22. Miles to go: 448. |
| _____ | _____ |
| WALTHAM, Mass., 11:30 a.m.: “Now they’re all fighting,” Dianna says, looking at Facebook on her phone. | WALTHAM, Mass., 11:30 a.m.: “Now they’re all fighting,” Dianna says, looking at Facebook on her phone. |
| “Over Trumpie?” Scott asks. | “Over Trumpie?” Scott asks. |
| “Yeah. I hate that,” she says. She adds: “Someone’s saying, he’s even in the back seat!” | “Yeah. I hate that,” she says. She adds: “Someone’s saying, he’s even in the back seat!” |
| Dianna spent the past year working tirelessly for Mr. Trump’s campaign, spending her own money and countless hours with many of his supporters to get him elected. She was even a delegate at the Republican convention. | Dianna spent the past year working tirelessly for Mr. Trump’s campaign, spending her own money and countless hours with many of his supporters to get him elected. She was even a delegate at the Republican convention. |
| She also lived for years in Cambridge, where Hillary Clinton won 88 percent of the vote. (Mr. Trump got 6 percent.) She has a rare ability to move back and forth between the two worlds. | She also lived for years in Cambridge, where Hillary Clinton won 88 percent of the vote. (Mr. Trump got 6 percent.) She has a rare ability to move back and forth between the two worlds. |
| She has a lot to say about both. | She has a lot to say about both. |
| She came to politics slowly. She had never really been that interested. She grew up in Boston in the 1970s. Her dad worked as a school bus driver. Her mom raised four children and tended bar. | She came to politics slowly. She had never really been that interested. She grew up in Boston in the 1970s. Her dad worked as a school bus driver. Her mom raised four children and tended bar. |
| “We were all Democrats back then,” she says. “Forty years later, we are all Republicans.” | “We were all Democrats back then,” she says. “Forty years later, we are all Republicans.” |
| Miles driven: About 42. Miles to go: 428. | Miles driven: About 42. Miles to go: 428. |
| _____ | _____ |
| NEAR WORCESTER, Mass., 11:59 a.m.: It has started to snow. The truck’s windows are steaming up. Dianna is talking to people on the phone, trying to help them find a place to stay in Washington. The AirBnB she will be staying in there is filling up fast. Her phone is pinging with people talking to her on Facebook. | NEAR WORCESTER, Mass., 11:59 a.m.: It has started to snow. The truck’s windows are steaming up. Dianna is talking to people on the phone, trying to help them find a place to stay in Washington. The AirBnB she will be staying in there is filling up fast. Her phone is pinging with people talking to her on Facebook. |
| It’s like a giant extended family all chattering at once. | It’s like a giant extended family all chattering at once. |
| Her journey to this point has been quite a trip of its own. | Her journey to this point has been quite a trip of its own. |
| Dianna’s adult life happened suddenly and soon. She got pregnant as a freshman in high school — a Catholic school. She was afraid. She says she got through it by putting each part of her life in a different room and closing the door. At graduation, she was the student council president. | Dianna’s adult life happened suddenly and soon. She got pregnant as a freshman in high school — a Catholic school. She was afraid. She says she got through it by putting each part of her life in a different room and closing the door. At graduation, she was the student council president. |
| She thought she should go to college, but now she had a daughter. She had an underachiever boyfriend. She had no money. And her family did not understand what college would get her. It took her 10 years to finish community college. | She thought she should go to college, but now she had a daughter. She had an underachiever boyfriend. She had no money. And her family did not understand what college would get her. It took her 10 years to finish community college. |
| She worked in a bank, painting houses, as a secretary in an auto-body shop. In her mid-30s, she decided to go to nursing school. She worked in cardiac surgery, in psychiatry, in urgent care. She did well, but she didn’t like it. | She worked in a bank, painting houses, as a secretary in an auto-body shop. In her mid-30s, she decided to go to nursing school. She worked in cardiac surgery, in psychiatry, in urgent care. She did well, but she didn’t like it. |
| What she really liked was volunteering. And organizing. | What she really liked was volunteering. And organizing. |
| She knew nothing about running, but became the director of a private track club, managing 25 coaches and 200 kids ages 8 to 14, and raising the money to support it. When she had the kids sell a coupon book with discounts from local businesses, it was the highest-grossing fund-raiser the club had ever run. | She knew nothing about running, but became the director of a private track club, managing 25 coaches and 200 kids ages 8 to 14, and raising the money to support it. When she had the kids sell a coupon book with discounts from local businesses, it was the highest-grossing fund-raiser the club had ever run. |
| Miles driven: 71. Miles to go: 399. | Miles driven: 71. Miles to go: 399. |
| _____ | _____ |
| CHARLTON, Mass., 12:26 p.m.: I am carsick. Scott spots a rest area and pulls in. Dianna buys me a Coke and even finds me generic motion-sickness medicine in a store. | CHARLTON, Mass., 12:26 p.m.: I am carsick. Scott spots a rest area and pulls in. Dianna buys me a Coke and even finds me generic motion-sickness medicine in a store. |
| “Here you go, honey,” she says kindly. “Sit down. You don’t look so good.” | “Here you go, honey,” she says kindly. “Sit down. You don’t look so good.” |
| I’m drinking a full sugar Coke, and my stomach is already starting to feel better. | I’m drinking a full sugar Coke, and my stomach is already starting to feel better. |
| Miles driven: 83. Miles to go: 387. | Miles driven: 83. Miles to go: 387. |
| _____ | _____ |
| STURBRIDGE, Mass., 12:47 p.m.: | STURBRIDGE, Mass., 12:47 p.m.: |
| “Oh my God! You got to put this one in!” Dianna says, looking through a stack of CDs. | “Oh my God! You got to put this one in!” Dianna says, looking through a stack of CDs. |
| “The Partridge Family?! Are you nuts?” says Scott. | “The Partridge Family?! Are you nuts?” says Scott. |
| “I have Abba,” she says. “Neil Diamond. Chicago. Bee Gees. But I love the Partridge Family.” | “I have Abba,” she says. “Neil Diamond. Chicago. Bee Gees. But I love the Partridge Family.” |
| Scott: “Oh boy.” | Scott: “Oh boy.” |
| The music begins to play. | The music begins to play. |
| “I woke up in love this morning. Went to sleep with you on my mind.” | “I woke up in love this morning. Went to sleep with you on my mind.” |
| “It’s a very complicated song,” she says, laughing. | “It’s a very complicated song,” she says, laughing. |
| Miles driven: 92. Miles to go: 378. | Miles driven: 92. Miles to go: 378. |
| _____ | _____ |
| NEAR HARTFORD, 1:07 p.m.: Our Facebook Live segment has been posted, and Dianna reads through some of the comments: Lots of angry shouting about Trump. Some of it about us. I ask Dianna how she feels. | NEAR HARTFORD, 1:07 p.m.: Our Facebook Live segment has been posted, and Dianna reads through some of the comments: Lots of angry shouting about Trump. Some of it about us. I ask Dianna how she feels. |
| “Uncomfortable,” she says. | “Uncomfortable,” she says. |
| As much as she is part of the Trump team, she tries to avoid alienating people. Maybe that comes from having lived in Cambridge. Maybe that comes from her personality as a networker. | As much as she is part of the Trump team, she tries to avoid alienating people. Maybe that comes from having lived in Cambridge. Maybe that comes from her personality as a networker. |
| “I try to encourage people not to yell,” she says. “I had a little meeting with women who are part of the volunteer team. I said, ‘If our goal is getting people to go toward Trump, criticizing them isn’t the right way. It makes you look bad, too.’ ” | “I try to encourage people not to yell,” she says. “I had a little meeting with women who are part of the volunteer team. I said, ‘If our goal is getting people to go toward Trump, criticizing them isn’t the right way. It makes you look bad, too.’ ” |
| “I don’t attack people personally,” she adds. “Except if I’m by myself and the TV is on.” | “I don’t attack people personally,” she adds. “Except if I’m by myself and the TV is on.” |
| She pops an Abba album into the truck’s CD player. | She pops an Abba album into the truck’s CD player. |
| Miles driven: 126. Miles to go: 344. | Miles driven: 126. Miles to go: 344. |
| _____ | |
| WETHERSFIELD, Conn., 1:30 p.m.: I ask Dianna how someone who grew up a Democrat in Massachusetts could have wound up a Trump voter. | |
| Her move toward politics, she explains, was less a burning ideological expression and more an affinity for people, and for bringing them together. She was good at leading people, but the world was also changing. | |
| In 2015, she sold her house in Cambridge and quit nursing to focus on an invention that involves beverages. | |
| “I was living in my camper in Framingham in my friend’s yard,” she says. “They were liberal. Stuff was happening — San Bernardino, Paris. I’d think: I don’t know if I agree with them.” | |
| When Mr. Trump announced his candidacy in 2015, she felt no sudden spark, she says. But his message steadily seeped in, like a slow-motion realization about herself and her beliefs: one she had always had, but had never really considered. | |
| “People were lying down everywhere,” she says, recalling protests about police violence. “They were lying down in Harvard Square. They were lying down on Route 93. They blocked traffic for three hours. Ninety-three is a really congested road; you want to pull your hair out anyway. To shut it down? What the hell is going on? What are these people doing?” | |
| At some point, she registered as a Republican. | |
| “I was trying to find out who I am in this whole crazy mess,” she says. “I feel like I had to take a stand. It was just crazy. I couldn’t understand it.” | |
| Miles driven: 135. Miles to go: 335. | |
| _____ | |
| Trump ‘Showed That You Can Stand Up For Yourself’ | |
| BERLIN, Conn., 1:30 p.m.: It has stopped raining. I asked Dianna how she came to like Mr. Trump. She said she did not take his candidacy seriously at first. | |
| “All I knew about him was that reality show,” she said. “I had only seen little glimpses of that.” | |
| But when she tuned in, she realized he appealed to her. “I really liked Trump’s pro-America thing. I grew up, I went to Catholic school. We did the pledge of allegiance every day. That was important.” | |
| “I started to pay attention not to what he was saying, but to the effect that he had. The freedom of speech things. He said outrageous things but so what. People would get so worked up over outrageous things.” | |
| “He was the tough guy. I like that he stood up for himself. He didn’t take any garbage from people. He retaught people how to have their self-respect. He showed that you can stand up for yourself.” |