Amid a time of marches a Trump supporter makes a bold statement
Fri, 06/12/2020
If it were any other time, political statements might just be passed off as one side versus another. But recent events have made the political divisions in America more stark, the divide wider, and the emotions more extreme.
Amid a time of marches for racial equity, justice and an end to police brutality one man, Tony (last name withheld by request) has taken his existing official Trump for President campaign sign to the next level. As an illustrator and artist he's done many portraits, but never one like this. He's adding an 8 foot by 8 foot painting of Trump to his 30 foot tall display. The painting depicts the President as an American flag sunglasses wearing patriot, his fist prominently held in defiance. when finished the painting will show Trump in a blue suit, red tie, and with bright gold metallic hair.
The entire display is easily visible from below on a hill above Roxbury Street SW near White Center where the sign portion has stood for the last 3 years. "A friend of mine, who is not a Trump supporter, helped me build it," Tony said.
Tony continued, "Some people love it, some people hate it. I've had bottles and paint, eggs and rocks thrown at it and at one point I even heard two guys saying they should burn it down."
Since then he's installed several layers of security around the sign and his house.
He's also tangled a little with the county who told him to take it down but according to Tony they let him keep it since he said, "I threatened to paint my entire house red white and blue and put Trump on my roof so it's visible from the air. Since then I haven't heard from them."
Why do it? "I voted for him for two reasons. I liked his sense of humor and his directness on the Apprentice (the NBC show from a few years ago). But I've followed him since the 80's because he was a successful guy. But they also had him on there because he had charisma and he had interesting things to say. Since he was elected he made the economy kick ass, he's made China standup and take notice. I think tariffs are an incredible way to get somebody to do what you want them to do eventually. It seems to me as if he's able to ruffle people's feathers and stir the pot. It throws people off. That's how he was able to go through all those very talented politicians in the debates. They had to sink to his level and it wasn't his level at all.. it was a pretend level he made them go to. I thought he could do a great job. I think by the time he's finished, the next four years it will be looked at as the most successful presidency ever with several blemishes, just like most presidents. But I think it's going to take the full 8 years for everyone to realize."
At the same time Tony is in agreement with the Black Lives Matter movement and agrees that the death of George Floyd was brutal and wrong. He sees no conflict in his support for President Trump and the goals of ending racism.
He just likes what he sees in Trump. "I think he's got balls of steel and he's cut from the same cloth as the great war time presidents of the past."
Comments
Awesome!
Awesome!
Tony has a right to free…
Tony has a right to free speech but like so many other instances, it's too bad his white blinders (you know, those vision narrowing devices put on horses) and his willful ignorance are also fully on display. As a representative of that slowly dwindling demographic of American prideful, anti-government, "independent thinking" outlaws (I know, I'm related to one) Tony like too many others puts his righteousness before the degradation exhibited every minute of the day by Trump and his "posse". Congratulations to Tony for exercising his rights. Life inside his bubble must be scary and sad right now as our country changes. For him to overlook the deaths, injuries, pain, and despair his hero has caused makes that atrocity of a sign an unwelcome burden the rest of us must bear. Even more despicable would be if this is an attention-seeking artist PR attempt.
I can see why he needs the…
I can see why he needs the pit bull
You know who is making an…
You know who is making an even BOLDER statement? Your publication for amplifying this. At this time? Really?
I wish this guy would use…
I wish this guy would use his artistic skills to do good in the world instead of to support an abusive, cheating, swindling, narcissistic, ignorant lowlife.
Yes, one must realize that…
Yes, one must realize that not all of us march to the drummer of the BLM "movement" which is Marxist in character and supported by and connected with the Muslim Brotherhood, Nation of Islam/Louis Farrakhan, the BDS movement, the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement and last but not least the Democratic Party of one Joseph Biden et al...I do make a distinction between Black Lives Matter, of course they do, but the "movement" has been hijacked and now has taken on the mantra of the old Black Panther Party of the 60s if you were around then. Also people losing jobs etc for not agreeing with BLM is just like the Stalinist purges of the 30s and the Great Leap Forward of Communist China/Red Guards/Mao's Little Red Book of the 60s..do we remember that also ?? Its also pathetic to see all these "woke' politicians, entertainers, religious leaders and media "experts" excusing the violence and destruction of all these ...ahem..."peaceful protestors".. I support the police..nationwide and worldwide..anything else is anarchy which we see in downtown Seattle et al daily..
Right near a church with a…
Right near a church with a large Latino population. I hope someone burns it to the ground!
Thank you Tony! We are with…
Thank you Tony!
We are with you neighbor.
I feel the article actually…
I feel the article actually amplifies this man’s ignorance. Supporting Trump as a business man? Doesn’t he know of all of his filings for bankruptcy? This is a feature story rather than investigative reporting or an op- ed piece. So, it is largely objective and it’s up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. Clearly, this Tony guy is an idiot. I mean, “[Trump has] Interesting things to say?” Yeah, like racist, sexist, baffling lies, hate-mongering things...ugh. It sickened me to read that he lives among us, and that there is this offensive eye sore in West Seattle...but at the same time it’s good to be aware of.
Per usual, most of the…
Per usual, most of the abusive, lowbrow poo-flinging is coming from folks on the side of the aisle who imagine themselves to be kind, decent, and enlightened folks. No surprise to anyone, except those doing the flinging.
This is not about Trump, of course. The same nasty comments were flung at Romney, at Reagan, at the previous Republicans, you know the those they remember with fond nostalgia. Bush was equated with Satan (hard act to follow, Trump) and remember Pence was the face of the Christian Taliban, when he was a candidate?
No, sorry, President Trump didn't make turn people into something they already were.
Why throw flames on the fire…
Why throw flames on the fire Westside?? Be part of the solution not part of the problem!!!
good for him. don't like it…
good for him. don't like it don't look. It's. Great piece of art.
Wow this is almost as…
Wow this is almost as inspirational as Rob Liefield's take on Captain America. (Google it for a good laugh) Hideous!
Just seeing this article…
Just seeing this article after seeing this garbage on the end of my street for over a year.
First, to address ignorant comment JW - its not anybody's fault that republicans are generally terrible. Bush literally started 2 decades long wars. Not one, but 2. Second, it's like we forgot already that Romney was caught red handed shit talking most of the united states at his private dinner. Republicans have had an entirely garbage line up of candidates - even the ones who won - since Nixon. Pence IS trash. He's a religious zealot with a lot of hate for the LGBTQ community, and that's proven by his actual life amd actions. Beyond that, literally only 1 decent presidential candidate in 50+ years for republicans and that was John McCain - who torpedoed his own run with that idiot Sarah Palin. That's not on us. That's on Republicans and the primaries you hold every 4 years to find the worst among you, catering to the bottom of your hateful base. Not tongue-in-cheek - Clinton was right about you people. Stop being "poo" and you'd stop having it thrown back on you.
Second - Tony's interview is exemplary of how dumb you really have to be to be a Trump supporter. Imagine being so stupid that you vote someone into office based on how entertaining they were on a reality show. That's literally the plot to idiocracy. If this guy had actually followed Trump since the 80s he'd know the only value Trump holds as a business man is his name as a brand, and the vast majority of those ventures fall flat. What kind of business man flunks a casino? The house inherently has the advantage. The only way a casino fails is complete incompetence. He's an entertainer, not a business man. Further, look at the real life effects of his tariffs. Farmers would disagree with the assessment that they help. So would pretty much any industry they effect. Tariffs just get passed on to you as the consumer. We lost the trade war Trump started with China, and we lost a lot of good trade partners in the process. Again, exemplary stupidity of an actual Trump voter. And to add one more thing - "Great war time presidents of the past" - who, exactly do you think that is? Bush? The guy who mismanaged us into 2 endless wars and the biggest economic crash since the great depression? Or do we mean FDR - the democrat who led us through 2 world wars, ended the great depression and created the middle class with "the new deal" and is the only president to have held the office for 3 consecutive terms. That's the only "great war time president" I can think of, and he was nothing like Trump.
Finally we have someone in Seattle that has balls. A Real American.