President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania head to the Inaugural Parade reviewing stand from the White House in Washingtion, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017. Trump was sworn-in as the 45th president of the United States earlier in the day. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley.
Originally posted November 3, 2016.
Pre the presidential election, Debbie and I will spend five days driving between Newport, Rhode Island, and Key West, Florida. Unscientific for sure, but an amusing activity is to measure popular voter sentiment by keeping a count of lawn signs. Yesterday through three heavily Democrat states and swing state Pennsylvania, we saw not a single Clinton lawn sign. Clinton support was zero. This summer we made six similar drives covering eastern New York and a lot of New England, all Clinton territory we’ve been told. Well the results were similar. You’d think Clinton had withdrawn from the race. Absolutely shocking.
This morning we are at one of our very favorite boutique hotels in America, Hotel Fauchere in Milford, PA. Since the historical renovation of the hotel was completed, we’ve been staying in pretty little Milford near the Delaware Water Gap four times per year.
It was shocking to roll into town yesterday afternoon to be greeted with huge Trump signs on many key street corners. And Clinton? Aside from some action at Clinton headquarters, there was not a single banner or lawn sign supporting her. What we did not even count were the big signs with a line crossed through the name Clinton or worse yet the “lock her up” signs. Once again, a traveler could not be faulted for believing Hillary Clinton had withdrawn from the race.
Click to our Trump surge map on the home page for our admittedly Trump friendly Electoral College count. We have factored in momentum through Tuesday. We will update our map daily until the election. As things stand, the map looks like most of America is behind Trump. The reality is that a Donald Trump early Electoral College victory and thus the presidency is still a long shot. (The outcome is not official until January). Unfortunately for Trump supporters, the guy just cannot stay on message and keep his mouth shut. Donald Trump has single handily fired enough rounds into his own ship to sink it.
Today we travel through PA, touch into Delaware and West Virginia, and then into eastern Virginia to our destination at The Inn at Little Washington, America’s unmatchable country inn and restaurant. The Inn is a favorite among beltway insiders, and there is always much to learn. By the time I post early tomorrow a.m., I’ll have an updated lawn sign count for you as well as additional anecdotal evidence and the most recent count from the battleground state polls. Here I will be concentrating on Pennsylvania, Virginia and finally Colorado, where, as of this a.m., I think Trump has his best chance of capturing the Electoral College votes he needs.
The Dish: Chef Patrick O’Connell
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