Ahead of election day in the US, Arutz Sheva-Israel National News spoke with Nate Friedman, an independent journalist who has been going around the country asking everyday Americans about the upcoming elections.
Speaking of his decision to hit the streets, Nate says: “I had the idea about two months ago, to speak to people on the street in New York. I just wanted to get their opinions on the upcoming election because it’s pretty much a consensus that it’s the most consequential election we’ve had in the United States, and I really wanted to get an idea of what the real people were thinking.”
He reveals that since he began he has already spoken to 350 people about the election. “I’ve gone all over. I’ve done a video in Ohio, in (Vice Presidential candidate) JD Vance’s hometown. I’ve been to Minnesota, I interviewed people in Minneapolis and Anoka County, one of the most contested counties in Minnesota. I spoke to a Senator who worked directly with (Vice Presidential candidate Tim) Walz. And I’ve spoken to Indian Americans in New Jersey, I talked to Amish people in Lancaster Pennsylvania, really all over,” he recounts.
Friedman says that he has found that “people are very intense” about the upcoming election. “You’ve got one side that believes that Trump is a threat to democracy, that he would be an emperor, and you’ve got another side that this is our last chance to restore America, to make America great again. So, it’s very divided. Some people feel that politics isn’t going to influence their lives that much, but I say the majority of people are all the way on one side.”
Friedman does note that, as he sees it, there is a clear favorite to win: “I would say that Trump is the favorite to win, a lot of the responses I get are mostly Trump. I speak to any and everyone. I do get rejected a lot, so a lot of people do not want to talk. The people who reject me may be voting for Harris, but I don’t know because they won’t say on camera. But I would say that Trump is the favorite to win, and the odds and the polls reflect that.”
Nate says that the group whose answers surprised him the most was the Amish in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He recalls how the first Amish woman he spoke to said that she would pray for the election, but not vote, which he assumed was the consensus among the group. However, as he dug more, he learned how Amish people are buying Trump t-shirts, registering to vote, and even attending Trump rallies. “Amish people are overwhelmingly for Trump, and they are actually voting in this election because in the past they didn’t vote.”
Another group that surprised Friedman, was those members of the Orthodox Jewish community he interviewed, all of whom answered that they support Trump. According to him, “Jews are pretty split 50/50 in America when it comes to Trump. Most of the time it’s 70 or 80 percent Democrat, but this time it’s much closer to 50/50 due to Trump’s very pro-Israel policies. I didn’t expect Orthodox Jews to think so differently than non-religious Jews. That was very surprising, not a single Harris voter.”
While his interviews are unbiased and he asks tough questions to everyone on both sides, Nate does not hide the fact that he supports former President Trump.
He says he has many reasons to support Trump and gives an example: “Central Park used to be a very safe place in New York City for the past 10-20 years. It’s been safe, you can walk there at night. I was going for a run, and I got punched in the face and people tried to surround me, and I was afraid for my life. This is the kind of thing that was not happening. Crime has gotten so bad due to the migrant crisis on the southern border.”
As an American Jew, Nate has another important reason to support the former President: “I’m very pro-Israel. Trump moving the embassy to Jerusalem was an amazing thing. The Abraham Accords were another thing that was totally unprecedented, I can’t see the other side doing that. The other side is very wish-washy about their Israel policy. Harris is even showing a different ad in Pennsylvania than the one she’s showing in Michigan. In Michigan, she’s having solidarity with the people in Gaza, while in Pennsylvania she’s showing ads saying that she’s standing firm with Israel. As an American Jew who loves Israel, I will not tolerate that stand.”
Friedman ends by answering concerns that many American Jews have about Trump and fears that he may not be good for the Jews: “It’s really dumb, there’s no evidence. I went to the Madison Square Garden rally; I would have liked to go to a Harris rally as well, but I wasn’t invited. I was invited to the Trump rally, so I went, and sitting behind me were Orthodox Jews, sitting in front of me were people wearing kippahs, all around were Israeli flags. Jews love Trump. His daughter is Jewish, his grandkids are Jewish. There is no evidence that he is bad in any way for Jewish people. Let actions speak for themselves. Politicians say one thing and do another; President Trump says one thing and he tries to do it or does it. That’s what I would say to Jews who feel that he’s not good for them: just name me a specific thing that he did that isn’t good for them. Not something that you misconstrue that he said, but something he actually did. It’s been nothing but great for Jews.”