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(Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com)
McARTHUR, Ohio--Ask people about President Donald Trump in rural, conservative Vinton County, and you'll often hear some variant of the same answer: the president is a voice for an area that for too long has been ignored by the political elite.
"He is more or less saying what we're saying," said Jane Woddell, a 68-year-old lifelong Republican from McArthur, the seat of Ohio's least populous county, about 55 miles southeast of Columbus.
Ohio Matters is a series examining important national issues through the eyes of people living across the state.
More than seven of 10 Vinton County voters backed Trump last November. And speaking with a number of people here (some of whom we're checking back with after meeting them in February) there's still a lot of support for what the president has done during his first 100 days in office -- particularly his nomination of newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
But not everyone here is satisfied with the president. Many political moderates throw out a different word to describe Trump's time in office: scary.
"He's a belligerent type of person who could very well get us into trouble with other countries," said Dale Harvey, a Trump voter from the village of Zaleski. "That's a little scary, because I don't think there's any back-down in the guy."
We asked several Vinton County voters to grade Trump on his first 100 days in office and explain their reasoning. Here's what they said.
Nikki and Dale Harvey
Nikki and Dale Harvey
Hometowh: Zaleski
Grade: C (Nikki), B (Dale)
Nikki Harvey usually votes Democratic. Her husband, Dale, usually votes Republican. Both voted for Donald Trump last November, partly out of dislike for Democrat Hillary Clinton and partly because Trump's campaign rhetoric resonated with them.
But after his first 100 days in office, the Harveys are not as impressed with Trump.
For Nikki, a 68-year-old retired manager at a food service company, said she's scared by Trump's rhetoric and often brusque treatment of other world leaders.
"I just feel that Trump's trying to run it as he did his company -- he's the boss, he's the main man, he can do as he - excuse my language - damn well pleases. And you just don't run the country that way," she said.
When cleveland.com interviewed Nikki in February, she expressed hope that Trump would improve America's healthcare system. Though Trump and House Republican leaders failed to pass legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Nikki still believes the president will eventually get a reform bill through.
"I do believe that the guy, whatever he says he will change or wants to change, he'll find a way to do it," she continued. "I just don't like the way he goes about things."
Dale, meanwhile, said he's been OK with Trump overall.
"He is trying," said the retired dynamite factory employee of Trump. "He has put the effort out there."
But at the same time, Dale said, he doesn't like how Trump has loaded his cabinet and administration with rich people who don't understand how average Vinton County residents live.
"What has been done? Nothing for the poor guy or the little guy or the moms and pops," Dale said of Trump's accomplishments so far. "Look around you - what do you see? Nothing."
J.C. Mullins
Hometown: McArthur
Grade: C
Mullins, a 52-year-old diner owner, didn't vote for Trump and still isn't a big fan of the president.
"His budget plans were pretty scary to me - the lack of concern for the poor children of the country," Mullins said. "He just seems to favor the uber-rich a little more than what I think he should have."
Trump, he said, initially "got off a little over-rambunctious, kind of jumping on things without realizing all of the ramifications."
But Mullins said he's "kind of impressed" that Trump has become more willing to admit when he's not able to do things - such as when he said during the healthcare reform fight that "nobody knew health care could be so complicated."
Going forward, Mullins said, "I'm hopeful that he continues to slow down a little bit and be a little more willing to admit that he's not able to do things on the global scale like the way he initially thought he would."
Chuck Cullison
Hometown:
McArthur
Grade:
D-minus
Cullison, approached by a reporter while walking his dog Rose, said he dislikes Trump because he's not a true conservative Republican.
"The only good thing he's done so far is get a conservative Supreme Court justice. That's it," said Cullison, referring to Gorsuch. "From what I understand, he's just flip-flopped on every other thing he's said he was going to do - all the conservative things he's said he's going to do, well, those are all out the window now."
A 55-year-old U.S. Army veteran, Cullison said he wrote in his own name for president during last November's general election.
"I'm afraid he's going to do a lot more liberal things, like try to do a one-payer health-care system that he wants, and then not build any wall for our southern border like he promised to begin with," he said.
Jeff Griffith
Hometown: McArthur
Grade: B-plus
Interviewed in February, Griffith said Trump was the best thing to ever hit the Republican Party. Two month later, the 55-year-old attorney is still a fan of the president.
"I believe he's accomplished a lot of things with executive orders that undid some things that the prior administration had in place," Griffith said.
He added later: "I think he's in the mold of Ronald Reagan - that he's a strong leader. The world, I think, will respect the United States. And when we say we're going to do something, I think he will follow through the best that he can."
However, Griffith added, Trump is "not perfect - he still has a lot to prove to me."
For example, he said he feels Trump's heart was not in the healthcare fight earlier this year.
"I think he could have and should have done more to get something passed," Griffith said. "After eight years, it looks like the Republicans are just a bunch of whiners - which they are. I am a Republican - we do better when we have something to complain about."
But he expressed optimism that Trump will eventually reach an agreement on healthcare reform.
"He's a businessman, he likes to negotiate," Griffith said.
Jane Woddell
Jane Woddell
Hometown:
McArthur
Grade:
A-minus
Speaking with a reporter outside her house in McArthur, Woddell voiced no complaints about Trump during his first 100 days in office.
"I like what he has done," said the 68-year-old lifelong Republican. Specifically, she said she liked Trump's pick of Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and his decisions to launch attacks in Syria and Afghanistan.
"He told them we're not going to be pansies - we're going to stand up and make it known that we're going to take the lead again," Woddell said of Trump's impression on foreign leaders.
What Woddell is not satisfied with, though, is how Democrats and critics are opposing Trump at every turn.
"We should give anybody a chance who's leading our country," she said.
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