I think that one (say, me) could make the argument that one indicator of popular support for a president or candidate would be the number of bumper stickers, yard signs, and other signage that one sees everywhere during a campaign and afterwards. Popular candidates and presidents often remain on bumpers for years after the campaign is over.
I live in an agricultural region. We had support for Clinton during the election, but it was quiet. Support for Trump was loud and proud. In your face. Buildings were painted. Bumper stickers on bumpers, in the windows of trucks, yard signs everywhere, including giant home made ones that looked more like bill boards.
A few weeks ago I decided to pay attention and see how much obvious support for political candidates I was still noticing in the area. Results so far:
Hillary: 0
Bernie: 2 bumper stickers and a giant home made billboard
Trump: 1 bumper sticker and 1 yard sign
Obama: I stopped counting. I think if people could vote for him again, they would.
Gore: 1 I thought it was kinda cute. Someone’s really hanging onto their dreams.
I found it very interesting that even the building mural on the gun shop is gone, with it’s proud statement of MAGA. It’s like no one wants to claim Trump any more.
What about you guys? What are you seeing out there on the rough streets? Any love left for the candidates?
There aren’t many campaign signs at all. I did see a small faded Trump one over the weekend. All of the bigger ones from last year are gone, other than that I haven’t paid much attention.
But on the street, well. I do volunteer work with Shirley, a little old lady with a Trump sticker on her Buick. No one bothered her sticker until the third week of March, which exceeded everyone’s expectations.
And there’s Sylvia, an even littler old lady, with a little car that says Lock Her Up on the back. I haven’t seen her lately. It’s kind of a relief, because no one likes that visual in the parking lot of a charitable organization, it actively pains the director and baffles the shit out of everyone else. “Goodbye everyone, God bless…” and off she goes in Lock Her Up.
My county voted for Clinton over Trump, but we have a loud n’ proud redneck faction here as well.
I still see a lot of Trump stickers on pickup trucks and some cars. Relatively few Clinton stickers but there weren’t that many even in October. Recently I think the Bernie stickers have surpassed the Clinton ones. Not that folks are adding Bernie stickers, but rather that Clinton stickers are being removed at a greater rate than are Bernie stickers.
I also see a lot of trucks and some cars flying one or two 8"x10"-ish American flags. I don’t know for sure what the owner means by that, but a decent fraction of them have Trump stickers and this whole flag-on-car phenomenon took off in midsummer 2016. I take it to mean jingoistic knee-jerk America First “patriotism”. But I might be wrong in that.
Something I have yet to see, are stickers proclaiming “Don’t blame me, I voted for X.”
But I don’t know whether that’s because everyone is still just confused, or because no one really wishes their guy DID win, or if it;s just that the fad of saying “Don’t blame me” has run it’s course, not to be repeated.
I thought it was kinda cute. Someone’s really hanging onto their dreams.