NAHANT — Residents took to the rotary at Nahant Circle Tuesday afternoon for a standout in support of Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The stand-outs are organized by the Nahant Republican Town Committee, and will take place every Tuesday in October during a national election.
Mary Livingston leads the Committee of 16 members as its president. Despite the town’s political landscape, the retired attorney has the goal of growing the group’s membership total to the maximum allotted amount of 35.
“It’s overwhelmingly Democrat,” Livingston said about Nahant. “People in Nahant are very loyal and you don’t really find that polarization… I allow people to ask me questions. I don’t lecture anybody and allow people to know that I’m here.”
Livingston grew up in a democratic family in her native Rhode Island. Her belief that the Republican Party is more financially responsible was a large reason for why she changed her affiliation.
Livingston has confidence that Trump will be able to end conflict in the Middle East between Israel, Palestine, and Iran more effectively than Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. She also referenced her agreement with Trump’s stance on the “deep state,” a term the former president uses frequently to describe government manipulation by establishment politicians.
She named some of his rhetoric and perceived offensive language as the “bad” of Trump as a candidate, however said that things like his reaction to the 2020 election results and criminal and civil charges brought against him have not altered her opinion of him.
“I think a lot of those cases that were brought in New York were vindictive and frivolous,” Livingston said.
She added that she does not believe Trump intentionally incited the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
Paty Aswad is one of the Committee’s newest members. She is also new to the Republican party overall, as she was previously an independent in 2022.
Aswad feels that the country was in a much better state during Trump’s presidency, and said that not liking Trump personally is not a good reason to not vote for him. When it comes to the topic of Trump’s legal cases, Aswad brought up President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s felony tax convictions.
“They’ve all been thrown out because it’s all just stuff it seems,” Aswad said about Trump’s criminal charges.
