WASHINGTON — Following an election cycle defined by divisiveness, Friday’s inauguration provided a clash of every type of voter and supporter. Below are the stories of three people at the inauguration who represent different sections of the United States electorate.

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Samuel Squadrito

Squadrito and John Bartolomeo grew up in the North Side of Syracuse, near Pond Street. The two said both of their neighborhood homes have been boarded up since they left. The two decided to drive to Washington the day before the inauguration. Both supported Trump, but Squadrito said he voted for former President Barack Obama both times in the last two elections.

Squadrito on his election preference: 

“I was a Bernie Sanders, a Democrat, and after what Hillary did to him and whatever came out, I just couldn’t vote for her and mostly Benghazi and how she lied to our troops.”

“He said all this stuff about Clinton, you know, and he turns around and backs her on the election trail? I will never vote Democrat again. The Republicans, they won.”

Squadrito on Trump tweeting about saving manufacturing jobs: 

“Carrier was from Syracuse. Look at Carrier now in Syracuse. It’s a landfill. Did anybody ever come in in Syracuse and stop Carrier (from leaving)? … They had 2,000 jobs or more, all gone. Go take a picture of that. It’s a landfill.”

“We built cars, we built washers and driers, we built shoes. You name it, we did it there. Syracuse China. You name it, Chrysler, (General Motors), we had it all there. Now they’re all gone.”

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Jim McGrath

McGrath, a 75-year-old from Boston who lives in Washington, D.C., has been picketing with TENAC, a D.C. advocacy group for tenants. He’s the chairman of the group and had signs about Trump and his cabinet picks. McGrath voted for former President Obama twice, but said Obama left Clinton in a tough situation with foreign policy. He voted for Clinton in the 2016 election.

On where his interest in politics come from: 

“I’ve been a political junkie all my life. Growing up in Boston of Irish descent, it’s pretty hard to avoid that. But anyways, my father was a political junkie and I inherited a lot of it from him.”

On foreign policy:

“There’s a great Irish statesman, his name’s Edmund Burke. … He said, ‘The only way for evil to flourish is when good men do nothing,’ and that’s what the story is with Obama. He did nothing when the evils of the Middle East, especially Syria and Aleppo, happened.”

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Nicholas Murphy

Murphy said he came to Washington to sell Trump gear for his cousin’s friend’s business. He’s supported Trump because he said he believes the new president doesn’t have ties like other politicians. He drove to Washington on Thursday.

On Trump winning: 

“Glad he won. Direction of the country was going a bad way. Hopefully now it will get a little better. We’ll wait and see if people start cooperating and just work together. It would make life a lot easier.”

Biggest challenge of selling Trump gear: 

“Getting to an entrance (is the biggest challenge) and sitting in there because we’re not allowed to go inside the actual area, so finding our ways to the entrances and walking around the entire perimeter of the Capitol.”

Published on January 21, 2017 at 12:33 am

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati