TWO Americans living in Northern Ireland have shared both their fears and excitement as Donald Trump returned to the White House.
In Holywood, three-time Trump voter Katie McCormack from California said she was delighted to hear of President Trump’s plans to massively increase deportations and to pardon many of those involved in the Capitol Riots on January 6 2021.
In Belfast, Democrat Kimberly Robertson (44) from Massachusetts told The Irish News she was dreading the next four years and described how the bitter election campaign had even divided her own family.
Already looking forward to casting her ballot in the mid-terms, Ms Robertson told The Irish News: “I don’t like to think about what’s happening in America right now.
“I’m absolutely baffled and disgusted and very sad about how we’ve allowed this to happen.
“I’ve quite a bit of fear about what’s going to happen in the next four years. I don’t think we’ve ever seen this level of cruelty and lack of compassion.
“I just feel like this is going to be a revenge tour. It’s very hard, I won’t be watching any of the inauguration events – I can’t bring myself to.”
Even after living in Belfast for 12 years and with some disconnect with the day-to-day of American politics, she said her family were split.
“I’ve got members of my family that are huge Trump supporters, and family who can’t stand the man,” she said.
“That’s even in a state like Massachusetts that’s navy blue. I don’t need someone who agrees with his ideas which are sickening to me. But that’s easy because I live 3,000 miles away.”
Speaking to the BBC, Ms McCormack said: “I feel really great that he’s finally going to be in.
“I pray for his security and for his families security - he has a lot of grandchildren; those are the things I’m concerned about.
“I’m so thankful that Tom Homan (Trump’s ‘border tsar’) is going to start deporting people,” adding she believed it would be ‘criminals’ that would be deported first.
“I’m also excited for the J6 people (those arrested for the Capitol Riots to be released, they’ve been treated horribly and Pam Bondi (Trump’s Attorney General nominee) said she was going to look at things case by case.”
She spoke of the “J6 singers” in prison who sang the pledge of allegiance every day.
“Some of them have been very ill, they’ve been treated quite badly. Compared to the BLM (Black Lives Matter) people, Antifa…even now the people that are protesting against Trump in DC…are destroying things.
“It doesn’t make sense. Trump supporters are all happy, they’ve always been nice to people whenever they have their rallies.”
Responding to Ms McCormack’s enthusiasm for Trump’s mass deportation plans, Ms Robertson said: “Can I be perfectly frank? Anybody that’s an immigrant in another country championing deportation is absolutely unhinged.
“Because it’s not just the illegal immigrants he’s going to go after. He’s going to target birth right citizenships. He has said as much.
“It honestly baffles me that when Americans move to another country they’re ex-pats, but when other people move to America they’re immigrants.
“I’m very conscious that I’m an immigrant here. I came here legally on a student visa and was fortunate enough to meet my husband.
“He brought me over on a spousal visa and I had a job within a month. I got nothing handed to me.
“I had to pay my NHS surcharge and a massive visa fee. This idea that immigrants are being handed things has always bothered me.
“So when I hear Americans in another country talking about how excited they are that deportations are starting. I just think ‘what is wrong with you?’”
