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Amidst the dazzling classic cars and tall combines showcased at Maryland’s Carroll County 4-H Fair, I encountered many voters to converse with. I was intrigued to see if they believed President Joe Biden was still in charge. Not a single person said yes.
When I spoke with Marge, a 60-something local who works at a remodeling company, she initially laughed and replied, “No, not in the least.” While distributing American flags at her booth, I probed further, asking when she thought he had ceased to lead, and she replied, “About a year ago,” adding, “it’s just gotten worse,” alluding to Biden’s downward trajectory.
Conversely, Mark and Bob, two farmers at the American Legion table, are convinced Biden has never truly been in control, although they acknowledge it’s more evident now. So, who do they believe is operating behind the scenes? “I don’t know,” Mark answered, “maybe Obama, or some cabal, but it’s never been Joe.”
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“This is Obama’s third term,” Bob interjected seamlessly, as old friends often do, “and if Kamala wins, it will become his fourth term.”
Mark shared that he hasn’t always been a staunch Trump supporter, and when I inquired about his change of heart, he mentioned, “When Trump spoke at the March for Life [in 2020], it meant a lot to me; no president ever had before, and we attend almost every year.”
It was telling that what won him over to Trump was a personal, courageous decision by the former president, not a result of focus-grouped tactics, but rather one that Mark felt resonated genuinely from Trump’s heart.
President Biden boards Air Force One as he departs Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on July 23, 2024. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
They informed me that Carroll County is the most Republican area in Maryland, and it certainly felt that way. Trump merchandise was sprinkled about, flags were abundant, and there weren’t many vegan options at the food stalls—no kale in sight unless it was on display; it truly didn’t feel like a blue state.
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Congressional candidate Kim Klacik aims to leverage this trend as she runs as a Republican for the seat vacated by Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger. Due to redistricting in 2022, the site 538 has shifted the district’s classification from strongly blue to leaning blue.
“This is Obama’s third term,” Bob noted, completing Mark’s thought as old buddies often do. “And if Kamala wins, it will become his fourth term.”
While it’s still a long shot, Klacik’s campaign alongside Board of Education candidate Dr. Greg Malveaux indicates she has garnered local support. “I hear you on the radio,” a middle-aged man approached her, saying, “You make a lot of sense.”
All politics is local, and discussions touched on education—I noticed a Moms for Liberty tent nearby, which has become quite prevalent—as well as a contentious plan from Democrats to install power lines with large towers through farmland, allegedly for environmental reasons.
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Repeatedly, the individuals I spoke with circled back to the national political landscape. They seemed unmoved by the media’s apparent disinterest in the assassination attempt on Trump, and at least one person expressed skepticism about the Secret Service and the FBI’s involvement.
Interestingly, the prevailing opinion that Biden had been sidelined, akin to the prized Heifers in the livestock exhibits, was accompanied by a sense of indifferent acceptance rather than shock, fear, or anger. It was more a feeling that we now function under a collective governance.
While nobody I spoke with expressed strong opinions about Vice President Kamala Harris, she didn’t invoke much contempt either; she seemed more like an inconsequential figurehead, replaceable by anyone.
From various conversations, it seems that many voters now see the decision as one not simply between Trump and Harris, but rather between Trump and the broader deep state.
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I had brought my son to the fair, and upon returning to the car, he realized he had misplaced his phone. Assuming it was left at the picnic table where we had eaten, I checked and found it there. A man in a trucker cap, with his family, handed it to me, saying, “We had been passing it around, hoping someone would come back for it.”
I returned it to my son, advising him to “be more careful.” I tried to sound serious but ended up laughing to myself, thinking, you’re truly not in Brooklyn anymore.
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