Nestled in the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem is entering its pre-Christmas season. In front of his themed store in this self-proclaimed city of Christmas magic, a man dressed in the clothes of the most famous character of the end-of-year holidays says he has his own idea of the result of the presidential election on November 5.
The people here will vote Democratic blue, blue like the ice of the North Pole
he said with a smile. He’s probably not wrong, because pro-Harris signs are legion in this rather liberal city.
Part of Bethlehem is included in the barometer county of Northampton, which has always voted for the winner of the presidential election since 1912, except for three elections. In 2020, it was Joe Biden who won, with less than a percentage point ahead of his opponent.
Sitting on a small makeshift terrace, Lynn Fraser and her husband Bill Bloom feel the stress and electoral fatigue taking over them.
I’m so tired of spending the last nine years spending so much of my time worrying about Donald Trump, it’s such a waste of my life and it’s so disturbing.
In the residential area not far from the picturesque little downtown, Dagny Tonga-Storm puts up her Kamala Harris sign. She, too, is nervous in anticipation of Tuesday evening. It’s almost like we’re suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and we’re going to relive the nightmare of election night in 2016, with such high hopes and then, my God, Trump won against Hillary Clinton
she says.
Her husband, Kurt, is also worried if Kamala Harris loses. I haven’t been this afraid of the future since I was in second grade, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when we had to hide under our desks because we thought there might be a nuclear war
he said.
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Dagny Tonga-Storm and her husband Kurt, two Democratic supporters, are already dreading the post-election period.
Photo: - / Frédéric Arnould
His neighbor behind him installed multiple pro-Trump signs on his property. Does Kurt ever talk to his neighbor? We only hear his dog barking, so, no, we don’t talk about politics, he says. It’s a reflection on us as much as on them, I don’t blame him, it’s just that we don’t feel comfortable talking about it.
A visit to the Trump Store
Farther north in Monroe County, the small rural town of Broadsheadville is home to a place where confidence in a resounding victory is greatest, the Trump Store. A store where you can buy all kinds of merchandise bearing the image of the candidate and former Republican president.
The report by Frédéric Arnould.
Photo: - / Frédéric Arnould
The most popular article is this one
explains the manager, Ray Fernandez, showing me a sweater on which is written Kamala sucks [Kamala est nulle]
.
This electoral anxiety perceived among the Democrats, we do not feel it at all among the die-hard Trumpists. Ray Fernandez is inexhaustible about the alleged conspiracies and schemes against his candidate: a Kamala Harris power grab before the election, power and internet outages to paralyze the system and, of course, the Big Lie
(the big lie).
The election was stolen
he maintains with his MAGA cap (Make America Great Again) screwed onto the head. And anyone who says it wasn’t stolen, well, do your research and educate yourself!
Even though more than 60 legal appeals have been dismissed out of hand by judges, some even Republican, the “big lie” still survives in the minds of Donald Trump’s supporters.
With polls in Pennsylvania showing Kamala Harris and Donald Trump tied, Ray Fernandez’s store has become a place where supporters of the Republican candidate vent their frustrations. Some even come to pray here, he says, like in church.
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The Trump Store is located in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.
Photo: - / Frédéric Arnould
Jeanette, a Donald Trump supporter who says she doesn’t appear as such in society, stocks up on pro-Trump toques and caps. I feel like when you see someone in a Trump shirt or with a Trump sign, you’re like, “I could probably be friends with that person,” and I hate being like that, because I’m not not one to judge someone who has a Harris sign
she explains.
She says she respects Democrats, even if she doesn’t understand them. I like to think that everyone has reasons to vote for who they want to vote for, she confides to me, but I find it hard to believe that we can vote for someone like [Kamala Harris]. There’s something weird about her.
Jeannette firmly believes that the Democrat wants to deprive Americans of their freedoms.
In Bucks County, another swing district, Betty Edwards flips her hamburger on her barbecue grill, proudly saying she hopes to help bring the region back to Republican territory. In a neighborhood where pro-Trump signs are rare, her husband Wilbur is not worried about it.
Many people will readily tell you that they are Trump supporters, but they won’t necessarily advertise it. I would have put up a sign if I could have one.
Betty Edwards is crossing her fingers that Donald Trump wins otherwise, she believes, things will go badly in the country. The situation at the border will only get worse, and there will be more migrants.
Not far from there, Republican supporters, wearing caps and sweaters in support of their candidate, set up, almost as an intimidating show of force, in front of one of the polling stations. They are more determined than ever to change this barometer county of Pennsylvania.
Disturbing remarks
In the small municipality of Bristol, around the monument in honor of Puerto Rican immigrants, recent negative comments about Puerto Rico, described by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe as a floating island of trash
during Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York, continue to make people talk. Pennsylvania has 450,000 citizens of Puerto Rican origin, including Israel, who made his choice.
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Dave, Israel and Enrico have very different views on the presidential election.
Photo: - / Frédéric Arnould
I know who I’m going to vote for, and she’s going to win
he said, referring to Democrat Kamala Harris. His neighbor, Dave, doesn’t really know who to choose between Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump, a few days before the vote. I hesitate, it’s like flipping a coin. When it comes to border security, I know who to vote for. But Trump’s rhetoric has gotten worse since he was first president
he admits.
Sitting next to him, Enrico, a Republican, does not support Donald Trump, a self-centered
according to him. I leave it up to God, I think God will control this, not people
he said.
The three counties visited by - give a fairly faithful image of the electorate in this divided Pennsylvania, where the key to the final result of November 5 may possibly be found. A State in the image of a country which no longer knows which way to turn.
Smiling, Santa Claus from Bethlehem believes he has the last word. The country will come together for the good of all, whoever wins.
If you still believe in Santa Claus, of course.
