Presidential visits always hold value
President Donald Trump called off his planned trip to Trumbull County this week, where he had been expected to sign a bill advocating for the coal industry.
Trump was expected to fly Thursday aboard Air Force One to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport where he was to sign a bill reversing a rule approved by the Barack Obama administration banning coal companies from dumping mining waste into streams. It would have been Trump’s first trip back to Ohio since before his inauguration.
We suspect the president may have chosen Trumbull County for his visit because this traditionally Democratic stronghold became friendly to the Republican when the county made the drastic switch from blue to red, overwhelmingly backing Trump in November.
The White House canceled the trip on Monday with no explanation, leaving us only to speculate on the reasons for the cancellation.
Could it be because the local Republican party appears to be coming apart at the seams?
Police responded to a fracas that erupted last Saturday night at a party meeting called by Trumbull GOP leader Randy Law for the purpose of recommending the party’s Trumbull Board of Elections member. When pushing and shoving broke out after an opposing faction of the local Republican Party showed up, police disbanded the meeting and sent everyone home.
The incident punctuated legal debate and public disputes that have been dividing the party for months, creating embarrassment for all local Republicans.
Meanwhile, local Democrats, led by Mahoning County Chairman David Betras, were licking their chops at the opportunity to protest the president’s visit. Published media reports quoted Betras as saying he was actually “disappointed” that Trump had canceled his visit because local Democrats wouldn’t get to show him this is “not Donald Trump territory.”
Now, most political experts will tell you that potential protests would never deter a politician from making a trip.
Still, the behavior of both the local Republicans and Democrats create little encouragement for the president to head in our direction.
Like him or not, the value of a local visit by the president of the United States should be noted and appreciated. Leaders of both parties should act like adults and bear that in mind.
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