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Live Updates From a Road Trip to Trump’s Inauguration: ‘I Had to Take a Stand’ Live Updates From a Road Trip to Trump’s Inauguration: ‘I Had to Take a Stand’
(35 minutes later)
Updated: 2:53 p.m. Updated: 4:33 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 TAVERNISEWe’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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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STURBRIDGE, Mass., 12:47 p.m.: “Oh my God! You got to put this one in!” Dianna says, looking through a stack of CDs.STURBRIDGE, Mass., 12:47 p.m.: “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.
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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.: Dianna reads through some of the comments on the Facebook Live segment: 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.
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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.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.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.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.”“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.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?”“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.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.”“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.Miles driven: 135. Miles to go: 335.
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BERLIN, Conn., 1:37 p.m.: It has stopped raining. I ask Dianna how she came to like Mr. Trump. She says she did not take his candidacy seriously at first.BERLIN, Conn., 1:37 p.m.: It has stopped raining. I ask Dianna how she came to like Mr. Trump. She says she did not take his candidacy seriously at first.
“All I knew about him was that reality show,” she says. “I had only seen little glimpses of that.”“All I knew about him was that reality show,” she says. “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.”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.”“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.”“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.”
Miles driven: 142. Miles to go: 328.Miles driven: 142. Miles to go: 328.
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NORWALK, Conn., 2:53 p.m.: “Oh, they were not happy in there,” Dianna announces, emerging from a McDonald’s with Scott, the Trump cutout and a small bag of French fries. (I had been in the bathroom and missed the action.)NORWALK, Conn., 2:53 p.m.: “Oh, they were not happy in there,” Dianna announces, emerging from a McDonald’s with Scott, the Trump cutout and a small bag of French fries. (I had been in the bathroom and missed the action.)
“The guy behind the counter said, ‘We don’t do politics,’” Dianna reports. “I told him we just needed some fries.”“The guy behind the counter said, ‘We don’t do politics,’” Dianna reports. “I told him we just needed some fries.”
A woman in a puffy blue jacket sitting at the window bangs on the glass with her fist. Having caught our attention, she points her finger at the cardboard Trump and gives a deep thumbs-down motion.A woman in a puffy blue jacket sitting at the window bangs on the glass with her fist. Having caught our attention, she points her finger at the cardboard Trump and gives a deep thumbs-down motion.
We are standing in the parking lot, and two women walk briskly up to Dianna.We are standing in the parking lot, and two women walk briskly up to Dianna.
“I love Mr. Trump, trust me,” says Lillia Millard, a retired translator who was born in Russia and now lives in West Norwalk. “He says it like it is, just like me.”“I love Mr. Trump, trust me,” says Lillia Millard, a retired translator who was born in Russia and now lives in West Norwalk. “He says it like it is, just like me.”
Dianna asks if she is going to watch the inauguration.Dianna asks if she is going to watch the inauguration.
“Yes!” she says enthusiastically.“Yes!” she says enthusiastically.
Her daughter, a journalist, will not. “She’s going to the women’s march, unfortunately,” Ms. Millard says, adding: “I still have until Saturday to talk her out of it.”Her daughter, a journalist, will not. “She’s going to the women’s march, unfortunately,” Ms. Millard says, adding: “I still have until Saturday to talk her out of it.”
Scott gives her a Trump-Spence bumper sticker, and we pull back out onto the highway to the music of Grand Funk Railroad.Scott gives her a Trump-Spence bumper sticker, and we pull back out onto the highway to the music of Grand Funk Railroad.
Miles driven: 202. Miles to go: 268.Miles driven: 202. Miles to go: 268.
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DARIEN, Conn., 3:26 p.m.
We are stopping again. The rest stop is all beige plastic and fake wood. A television is playing President Obama’s last press conference. It is barely audible, under the thumping Stevie Nicks song flowing through the loudspeakers.
It is the final minutes.
“There are a lot more good people than bad in this country,” he says.
Dianna says back: “Yeah. I agree with that. I do.”
He says that he curses more behind closed doors.
“So do I,” Dianna says.
He is talking about his daughters. He keeps going. He says he believes in this country. Dianna stops agreeing.
“Do you believe he believes in this country?” I ask her.
“No,” she replies. “I don’t believe that.”
I ask her why.
“For all these years people said all this stuff about him and I didn’t believe them,” she said. “But he has done so much to harm America. He basically tried to be Robin Hood. His trade policies. His willingness to try to take away from people who had more and give to those who had less,”
“The middle class shrunk, more people ended up at the bottom. That was as the result of him. Obamacare was a big part of this. Look how much money it costs me just for my health care. It didn’t make sense to me. It’s hard to know. Is it really what’s in his heart or are his ideals getting in his way?”
Miles to go: 263
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Still in DARIEN, Conn., 4:33 p.m.
We’re eating spicy hummus and carrots at the Darien, Conn., rest stop. I am asking Dianna about Mr. Obama. She didn’t vote for him. But she defended him when her family or friends would attack him.
But she is glad to see him go. Part of that is policing.
“The first thing he said that struck me was when he said the Cambridge police acted stupidly,” she said. “When that comment came out, something in my head went ‘huh’?”
“Then he said Trayvon Martin could have been my son. Maybe that’s what he’s thinking, but when he says something like that as a leader, people listen. I had this like, ‘what’? I was confused by that. What are you doing?”
She added: “Things have changed in terms of the criminality. People will do anything. They are going up to cops and executing them. People are blowing themselves up. They are ramming trucks into things. If you alienate the police, then we are going to have no law and order.”
On Mr. Obama, she said: “When you are the leader there are times when you have to bite your tongue,” she said.
She added: “I feel the irony in that because people will say, Donald Trump doesn’t bite his tongue. I want to see how it plays out once he’s president. I don’t know the answer.”