Trump Nation says controversial immigration order is no surprise to them

The people who elected Donald Trump president say the furor over his executive order on immigration is nothing compared to the one he’d cause if he did nothing to crack down on travel into the country from nations linked with terrorism.

“This is exactly what he promised during the campaign,’’ said A. D. Amar, a college professor who immigrated to the U.S. decades ago from India. “If he did not do this, I and many other of his supporters would have been disappointed.’’

That, in the Trump camp, is putting it mildly.

If Trump backed down, “I would be furious,’’ said Barbara Cope, a retired hospital employee who lives in Elmwood Park, N.J. “I’d say, ‘This is what you ran on! You lied like all the other politicians!’’’

Both are members of Trump Nation, an array of Trump voters in all 50 states who’ve spoken periodically with the USA TODAY Network about their hopes and expectations of the new president. Although much analysis of Trump’s order has focused on how his election victory empowers him to make such changes, it’s also true that if he does not make them, there will be a political price.

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Trump’s order prohibits entry by all refugees for four months and by Syrian refugees indefinitely, and it calls for “extreme vetting" in the future. It also bars any visitors for three months from seven nations deemed to be sources of terrorism, all of which have Muslim majority populations. Other nations with Muslim majorities whose citizens have committed terror attacks, such as Saudi Arabia, were not covered by the order.

At least part of the backlash against Trump’s order focused on the haste in which it was issued; the confusion it created, especially at airports; and the impression it gave of America turning its back on the world.

But Gene Dunn, a longtime Trump supporter who lives on Long Island, decried what he called the ‘’whining about all the ‘chaos” being caused by the travel ban. “If you want chaos,’’ he said, “watch what happens when some ISIS maniac yells, ‘Allah Akbar!’ and proceeds to mow down innocent Americans with a machine gun, bomb, big construction truck, or God forbid, one day with WMDs.’’

Despite the inconvenience or hardship caused by the order, “with something like this, there’s gonna be some toes stepped on,’’ said Michael McCoy, a saw mill owner who lives outside Weaverville, in the mountains of western North Carolina. He’s one of many registered Democrats who voted for Trump. Now he's a registered Republican.

“Trump caught the population off guard on this,’’ Amar said. “People did not expect it to happen so soon.’’

McCoy was among those who admitted he was confused by what seemed like a complex issue, and he expressed dismay over the case of a South Carolina college student who was stranded by the order. “I don’t truly understand international travel, because I don’t do it,’’ he said. But, he added, the order and the process it set in motion “seems over-complicated to me. This nation is great at over-complicating things.’’

Amar, however, said there was no way the order could have been worded or issued that would have placated Trump’s critics. “The reaction is very much based on the side to which one belongs,’’ said Amar, who teaches business at Seton Hall University and lives in rural Warren County, N.J. “When I hear some opposition, I find that the individuals voted for Clinton. Those who support it are Trump voters.’’

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And they like what they’re seeing. According to a Quinnipiac poll, although Trump's job approval among all Americans has slumped to 36% — the lowest on comparable record — since the inauguration his stock has risen among Republicans from 76% approval two weeks ago to 81%.

After the election, it seemed Trump might get a pass on many of his campaign promises. This was because his supporters’ loved him so much, because his opponents hated his proposals so much, and because of a general acknowledgement that Trump the campaigner was best taken seriously but not literally.

And at first the president-elect seemed inclined to take the pass. He said he wouldn’t necessarily build a wall along every inch of the Mexican border; would focus deportation efforts not on all illegal immigrants, but on those with criminal records; and try to retain some redeeming facets of Obamacare.

Then he took office.

“Only a person like Trump could do such bold things,’’ said Amar. Cope knew why: “Because he has the toughest skin — tougher than snakeskin.’’