Lost factories and construction pushed Erie County to put its hope in Trump

ERIE, PA — Todd Sias couldn't wait to show us the photographs. My twin brother, Jordan, and I had just walked into the humble apartment Sias shares with his wife Diana on Parade Street, a few blocks from the Lake Erie shore.

Sias took out the photos, and there he was. The printed photos show Sias, an out of work 44-year-old who immigrated from Mexico as a child, smiling, gesticulating and generally having a grand old time at the Erie Insurance Arena on August 12, 2016.

That was the day Todd and Diana witnessed then-presidential candidate Donald Trump holding court before roughly 10,000 admirers, and Todd looked in the photo as though he could hardly contain his enthusiasm. "This is me. And I'm wearing my ‘Make America Great' shirt," Todd explained. "And I'm happy."

Sias saw a lot to like in Trump, whom he said he has supported "since day one." There were Trump's pledges to repeal Obamacare, ban certain refugees from entering the country, and build a wall between the US and Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

I asked Todd whether he was troubled by some of Trump's hardline positions and harsh rhetoric on immigration. "I know that Trump seems like he's hard-pressed against Hispanics, Muslims, anybody who is not basically an American," Todd answered. "And as well he should be. America should be for Americans. I am Hispanic, but I have dual-citizenship, and I filled out the paperwork and got in this country legally."