In heavily Democratic Massachusetts, Trump supporters go above and beyond
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton carried Massachusetts by nearly a million votes — 60 to 32.8 percent — but Donald Trump won many towns, including several in the Central and Southeastern parts of the state.
Trump has been known to say, "go big or go home," and many here follow that same mantra when it comes to showing their support. They paint airplanes, display cardboard cutouts on their lawns, make large homemade signs, and fly giant flags from homes, businesses and even bicycles.
Many have had their over-the-top displays stolen or vandalized, while others have been yelled at, received obscene gestures or worse. But they've also gotten plenty of positive feedback.
Here are some of their stories.
JOSEPH MACQUINN, WEST BRIDGEWATER
West Bridgewater teenager Joseph MacQuinn can be seen around town with flags in support of the president and first responders trailing behind his bicycle.
The 16-year-old, who will be a junior at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in Easton, made a flatbed out of an old carrier that children often sit in and holsters to display his flags. One of them says "Trump 2020" and "no more b---s---" underneath. The other is an American flag with a blue and red line.
"If I get someone that flips me off it makes my day," MacQuinn said about how people react to his Trump flag.
He said the negative reactions show how people let their feelings get to them.
Not everyone feels that way, MacQuinn said. He can usually tell whether car honks are directed at him and that the driver is a supporter based on their expression.
Because he isn't old enough to vote in the presidential election, MacQuinn said using his First Amendment right to wave the flags is a way to show support for Donald Trump.
Some of his friends are also supporters of the president, but they have told MacQuinn that they aren't brave enough to fly flags around town like he does.
— Mina Corpuz, The Enterprise of Brockton
BOB SULLIVAN, HANSON
Bob Sullivan went to the New England for Trump Store in town this week to buy signs to put up in front of his business.
In a liberal state like Massachusetts, he said it’s interesting to see how people react to displays supporting the president. Sometimes when they drive by, they roll down their windows to let him know that they disagree.
“It’s kind of fun and livens things up,” Sullivan said about putting up the newly purchased signs.
Every four years he sets up flags, signs and banners outside the motorcycle accessory business he owns, Sullivans Inc., during election season.
In 2016, Sullivan placed a mannequin resembling Hillary Clinton and wearing an orange jumpsuit inside a makeshift prison outside his business. He said someone took the mannequin in the middle of the night and he reported the “jail break” to police.
He also shows his support at home in Hingham with a Trump flag he has on his boat.
Sullivan considers himself a big supporter of the president and says he has done great things. He said people have said stuff about Trump that is negative or isn't true, and as a result he hasn’t been able to catch a break in the past three and a half years.
—Mina Corpuz, The Enterprise of Brockton
ALLEN COSENTINO, TEMPLETON
Allen Cosentino is flying high in support of President Donald Trump, but he didn't really know much about the president four years ago.
Cosentino found a candidate in the outspoken businessman. He wasn't planning to vote, didn't know much about Trump, but says he liked what he heard.
Since then, Cosentino has gone all in, painting his airplane both in support of the president and to annoy Democrats who see him flying slowly over Central Massachusetts and for the fun of it, over Democratic events. He also has a 20-foot tall flag pole in his front yard with a Trump flag on it. He said he doesn't worry about the criticism, although the airplane invites it.
With "Deplorable Al" on one door, the plane has "MAGA" on both sides of the tail and caricatures of Trump. To annoy liberals he has snowflakes with lines through them painted on both sides as well. A disclaimer says that the artwork was paid for by the "Deplorable Taxpayer."
He adds the aircraft number so people look him up through the FAA, and a complaint number that when dialed, goes to the Democratic National Committee.
"This may be the most photographed Cessna 150 in the world," he said.
WHITNEY AND ROSE PARKER, WORCESTER
Whitney and Rose Parker have had some of their Donald Trump signs stolen, but they generally get positive support in their pro Trump display at their home on Montclair Drive in Worcester.
They supported Trump the first time around, and plan to vote for him again in November.
"I believe in policies that are good for long-term growth, long-term stability," Whitney said.
He and his wife are retired small-business owners and say the president's policies have been good for small businesses. They decided to support him for that reason.
"He was going to change the system," Rose said. "He was a businessman and not a consummate politician.
"I feel he says what he means and means what he says," she added.
Since they put out Trump signs and a flag, they say, they have gotten positive feedback from 70 to 80% of those who drive by. Their quiet neighborhood is politically mixed, with some conservatives who support Trump living near much more liberal Democrats. A few people drive by and give them obscene gestures, but that is rare, they said.
DONALD BOREK, WORCESTER
Donald Borek, who lives on Angelo Street, said he is not worried that some people might get angry about the flags flying at his house for Donald Trump, and he believes critics are treating the president unfairly.
"How can you blame a pandemic on him," he said.
Borek's dog, Balto, who joined him outside to show off his display last week, may agree, but kept his politics to himself, sitting quietly next to his owner.
Borek said he likes that Trump is a businessman, rather than a politician. He has two Trump flags, one on his roof, and one on a pole on the side of his yard. There is also a homemade sign that reads "Re-elect Donald J. Trump 2020," and a sign in the window that reads, "Donald for president."
The two flags are a gift from Borek's son-in-law, who lives in North Carolina.
Borek said the news media cause Trump's problems. He said the television show "Star Trek Voyage" showed people how much harm can occur when people are unfairly attacked in the media.
PAUL JOHNSON, GARDNER
One of the most prominent presidential campaign flags in the city flies above the South Gardner Hotel on East Broadway.
Owner Paul Johnson plays coy when asked if the “Trump 2020” flag belongs to him or to one of the tenants who rents a room in the boarding house above his restaurant, but there is no doubt that Johnson is a supporter of Donald Trump.
“I have never supported a political candidate, but (Trump) is not a politician — he’s a businessman,” Johnson said. “He’s not in anybody’s pocket.”
The vast majority of his customers approve of the flag, according to Johnson, who said his establishment has become something of a meeting place for customers who share his political beliefs.
“There’s a lot of Trump supporters who come in here. They like to dub it ‘Trump Land,’ ” he said.
Johnson said not all of his customers are as enthusiastic about the 45th president as he is, but he said he is not bothered by their comments about the flag.
“I’ve had a few people who have been triggered by it,” Johnson said. “They have this emotional thing, (but) I’ve always been about facts. I keep emotions out of it.”
Johnson said that for the most part his customers get along no matter which candidate they support in the election.
“If somebody gets offended, other people have enough respect to just let it go,” he said.
—Stephen Landry, Gardner News
FRANK SWEET, SUDBURY
Frank Sweet can’t understand why he’s been harassed for putting up a large sign in his yard that shows his support for President Donald Trump.
“The hatred for Donald Trump is amazing to me,” Sweet, 59, said.
Sweet is bothered by constant obscenities yelled out of car windows that roll past his property on Route 20 in Sudbury. He’s also found 15 bags of dog poop in his yard, and nails were tossed in his driveway to flatten his tires.
That’s not all.
Sweet said a local youngster used a club to knock down his Trump sign.
That didn’t deter Sweet.
He put the sign back up, but eventually took it down after a neighbor had a brick thrown through a car window last month for displaying a Trump sign. Sweet doesn’t want the same fate to happen to his car, or his wife’s.
He plans to put the sign back up on Halloween, three days before Election Day, when the country either chooses four more years for Trump or prefers Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
“I’m going to stand out here, too,” Sweet said to emphasize that when the sign reappears, he’s going to guard it to prevent any vandalism.
—Henry Schwan, MetroWest Daily News
RALPH BAKER, COTUIT
Ralph Baker posted the first Trump-Pence sign on his front lawn in the run-up to the 2016 election. Not long after, it was stolen.
“When one sign was stolen I put up two, when two were stolen I put up four, that’s how it became a big display,” said Baker, 66, whose property - built by his great-grandmother - sits along busy Route 28 at the corner of Santuit-Newtown Road in Cotuit.
The signs multiplied until there was no room to add more, he said, so he installed a huge Trump sign, solar-powered spotlights - so it could be seen at night - and more recently, a Trump flag. The display includes a big sign for Barnstable County Commissioner Ronald Beaty Jr., an ardent Trump supporter.
A lot of people honk when they pass, some wave in support or stop and thank him, others shout swear words or give Baker a one-finger salute.
“I tried to get others to put up Trump signs but they are too afraid to,” said Baker, who supports the president because he is a fighter.
Recently, on three occasions, someone spray painted BLM on Baker’s political signs so he bought five cameras in an effort to catch the vandals. He’s had no luck on that front yet.
One of Baker’s biggest detractors is his brother, who lives around the corner and declined to give his name. Baker describes him as liberal. The signs in his yard say: “Not Us. Not Trump Supporters Here. No Hate. Peace.”
Baker’s political displays started with anti-Obama signs. In those days Baker, a heavyset man with a longish white beard, would dress up as Uncle Sam and stand in his front yard as a way to encourage people to vote.
In June, Baker lost his job as a driver for a company that took people to and from their medical appointments. The company closed for good, he said, because of Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 business shutdowns. He said he has yet to collect unemployment because of a paperwork problem.
“I’m broke so I can’t contribute to the candidates I support, but one thing I can do is make a stand here.”
—Anne Brennan, Cape Cod Times
