With President Donald Trump under political scrutiny constantly, being a Trump supporter or wearing a MAGA hat can be an uncomfortable or difficult position. Well… for this dynamic duo, it’s not!

Best friends and seniors, Chris Lochhead and Chase Pope have no problem showing their support for the country’s leader. Whether they are known around campus for being those two football-playing bro-friends or always sporting some sort of American apparel, they are without a doubt-true student Trump supporters.

Trump is definitely polarizing – people either hate him or love him (although some are afraid of the backlash for admitting the latter).  The anti-Trump view him as a racist, evil, bigoted, environment-ruining narcissist. Trump definitely does not have the media on his side and people are often influenced by a headline rather than true facts.

Chris believes that Trump is not racist. When asked about what opinions or policies that he liked of Trump’s, he said  “Putting an end to illegal immigration, protecting the second amendment, and keeping American rights in American hands.” He wanted to note that “Trump doesn’t want to segregate America, he just wants to eliminate illegal immigration which people tend to confuse with racism.” Chase “appreciates the lowered unemployment rate, border wall support, foreign policies, and America being put first.”

Chase and Chris are pretty uninfluenced when it comes to people disagreeing with their beliefs. Chris even “loves it.”He says, “I think it’s hilarious because America was literally based off people having different views.” They believe Trump has done quite a lot for America. Chase says, “Funding has been put towards things that matter,” and says, “Trump doesn’t deserve the hate he gets.”

With the government shutdown going into its fourth week, Chris says that this could all have been avoided. “The Democrats called Trump’s bluff and so he did it.” Chris and Chase want the government to open so federal employees get paid, but they believe that making agreements and coming to a mutual decision between the parties needs to improve so things like this don’t happen in the future. Chase says that “border security will improve” after all of this is over.

“He’s a businessman after all and not a politician. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything and he has done everything that he has promised in his campaign,” says Chris. With all of the negativity and hate that Trump gets, not everyone in America shares the hostility. Just because someone doesn’t share the same belief or have the same opinion, opinions are unique and they should be respected regardless. Chase and Chris want to say “Thank you and we can’t wait for four more years!”