Colorado's Republican Leaders Waffle On Trump, But These Voters Are Steadfast

Donald Trump is having a hard time in Colorado.

Less than half of the state’s 49 Republican leaders signed on to a letter expressing support for the presidential nominee. Earlier this month, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), arguably the most high-profile Colorado Republican, pulled his support for Trump, which was already lukewarm at best.

That makes no difference for Susan Littman and Jane Meagher. The two Boulder, Colorado, residents tell Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson that they are voting for Trump because they care more about the issues than personality.

On choosing conservatism

Susan Littman: "Well, I lived in Boulder in the 1960s, so I was very liberal at that point. And once I started raising children, somehow, conservatism became important."

Jane Meagher: "I realized after the Obama election — whom I voted for — that I didn't like the country was going, and ever since then I've become sort of a student of conservatism and feel more and more strongly that conservatism is an absolute important element and part of our country."

On supporting Donald Trump

Meagher: "Well, Donald Trump was not my first choice, and, in fact, I would say he was very low on the scale of when we had 17 candidates running. However, I think that once I realized that there was a likelihood that he would get the spot, the Republican nomination, I felt like I better learn more about him. So I started going through the trouble of reading more about his platform, what he was about, what he was proposing, whether it was with the economy, with immigration, with international trade and the military. And I really found that I really agreed with a lot of what he was saying. I don't necessarily agree with how he says it, but I felt that the concepts of what he was preaching were very important."

Littman: "Well, part of the appeal of Donald Trump is that he is an outsider and part of his appeal may very well be that he does not speak like a polished, practiced politician. I don't either like it or not like it, myself. I'm used to listening to politicians who have all their talking points at the ready, written. They don't even have to write it on the back of their hand. They just know it by rote, and I think that that is the way Hillary sounds — the practiced, talking points that are repeated over and over — and those are almost all antithetical to what I believe the direction of the country should be taken in.

When we listen to his ideas on economics, they make more sense than Mrs. Clinton's. When you listen to his ideas on defense and realize our military is as bad as it's ever been since World War II. When you look at the problems with immigration — you know, I think his policies attract me much more than his personality. And honestly, I am less caring about any candidate's personality. It's not a — well, it shouldn't be — a popularity contest, and every so often I think that if people were banned from TV and the populace had to actually read their speeches and read their policies, the elections, most of them, would probably turn out very differently."

"I think there are an awful lot of politicians who don't want to see their apple cart upset."

Susan Littman, on why some Colorado Republican leaders aren't supporting Trump

Meagher: "I totally agree with that, and I think that's kind of the point I was trying to make before. I feel that the economy is my primary issue. My children — I have three grown sons — they have come to believe that 1 to 2 percent GDP is normal. It's the new normal, and I absolutely disagree with that. I think it's become the best we can do under the existing economic plans. I think Donald Trump, his plans will provide a great opportunity for us to really have a rejuvenation of our economy, high level of growth. He says 4 percent, it wouldn't surprise if it would be 5 or 6 percent. When that happens, a lot of the other issues disappear. When that happens, there's less income inequality. There's fewer people on food stamps. You start to have more and more opportunities for people to increase their own personal wealth, and therefore I think the outcome is far better for the entire country."

On why some Colorado Republicans are not supporting Donald Trump

Littman: "I think that's because once a politician gets into the political world — and by the world our founders never intended to have a permanent political class. And I think there are an awful lot of politicians who don't want to see their apple cart upset."

On Trump's controversial remarks during the campaign

Littman: "I'm 73 years old, and by now I know, I think, what men talk about when they're by themselves. And I think, if I'm gonna be conservative, which I am, about this, I would say that 80 percent of the men in this country have said things just as egregious as Donald has, but they say it behind closed doors or in the, you know, locker room. And, no, as long as people don't do it publicly in front of small children, I don't care what they talk about in private."

Meagher: "I really don't pay attention to those things, and I look at the issues, and I look at the solutions that are being proposed for that."

Susan Littman, a Boulder resident supporting Donald Trump.

Jane Meagher, a Boulder resident supporting Donald Trump.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled Jane Meagher's last name. It's Meagher, not Maher. We regret the error.