One month into President Donald Trump’s presidency, NBC 7 sat down at D.Z. Akins in La Mesa and Waypoint Public in North Park for a sandwich, a beer and a little political conversation.
“I’m feeling great!” D.Z. Akins diner Mike Stafford said enthusiastically when asked what he thinks about the new administration.
While finishing his grilled cheese, Stafford explained, in his view that Trump is doing everything he said he would do. “The thing that strikes me immediately is he's preformed as he said he was going to perform,” he said.
At the booth around the corner Joyce Camiel and her dinner date Bryce Westphall had differing opinions.
“It’s a disaster,” she answered after a little prodding. Westphall, who joked about getting kicked by Camiel under the table, said Trump has the will to grow a strong, successful country. “If he's able to accomplish 40 percent of [what he said he would do] without getting us in a war, he's done okay.”
At the bar Waypoint Public the craft beer was flowing as was the political conversation.
Ninth grade teacher Leslie Diaz-Burns says she didn’t vote for Trump, but she was hoping for the best.
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“I'm feeling a little disappointed with how things are going because I feel that the president has missed opportunities to bring people together,” she said. She’s less hopeful now. “I guess he's going to institute another executive order even though the other has been struck down by the court. So I don't know. I guess the answer is I don't feel like he's really accomplished anything.”
It’s still early in the president’s first term and only time will tell if Trump’s presidency is successful or not. But one thing is certain - pastrami on rye, a pint and political opinions will continue to mix until the next election.
