A Whirlwind Affair

By Emery Eisner

What happened two days ago? Well, for one thing I was supposed to write this blog post. Unfortunately, my overflowing brain allowed this assignment to pour out. But I can tell you about my experience from Jan. 11 with greater clarity now, having that beautiful 48-hour hindsight. 

Two days ago I travelled to Newton, Iowa to cover a Bernie Sanders rally at a local middle school. Later, I wrote an article covering his talking points as well as the interest that college students have in Sen. Sanders. But what was most interesting to me was not included in any published piece. Together with my peers, I interviewed an Iowan who said he was still not fully committed to Sanders for the 2020 election, but that in 2016 the senator was his first choice. After former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the democratic nomination, my interviewee decided to vote for President Donald Trump. 

While he didn’t like Trump’s “erratic” behavior, he did say he agreed with many of Trump’s policies, including the recent killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. 

The duality of Sanders and Trump is something that interests me as a journalist, and I have yet to fully understand what the implications of these voters’ attitudes could mean for the 2020 election, as well as what it means for the state of U.S. politics as a whole. What I can say, however, is that in my time in Iowa thus far I have observed a serious thirst for change, and that Iowans see the potential for that thirst to be quenched in several candidates. As was said during our class discussion last night, it’s anybody’s game at this point.