WILMINGTON — The 2016 Presidential Election between former Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has drawn attention from people far and wide. Nataliya Gumenyuk is one of those people.
Gumenyuk, an independent journalist from Ukraine, made a stop in Wilmington as she covered the election. While here she attended the Trump rally held on Friday at the air park and spoke to attendees about why they’re supporting him.
“I remember in 2008 there was the issue of health care, but now we have a whole different phenomenon,” said Gumenyuk. “There’s kind of a distrust of the government to the extent that I have not seen in the U.S. before. You just have to talk to the people and understand. It’s easier to understand why people are against him (Trump), but it is hard to see why people are supporting him.”
Gumenyuk had previously covered the previous two elections between President Barack Obama and his opponents Arizona Sen. John McCain in ‘08 and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in ‘12. She described this year’s election as being different from the others — she has not seen anything like what has been going on, including a candidate threatening to imprison their opponent.
“I feel that it’s risky,” said Gumenyuk of the campaign’s tone. “In particular with Donald Trump and what he says on foreign policies. It kind of contradicts the international law and the way the system is built. Of course, it’s concerning in that stability in this time of turmoil. If a major politician says the current allies aren’t working, like NATO, it’s concerning. It is indeed very polarizing.”
When comparing the elections held in Ukraine — a nation in eastern Europe of about 45 million people roughly the combined size of Arizona and New Mexico — and those in America, she noticed that the major difference is that Ukraine’s elections are more focused on the issues.
“It was more about the ideologies of the candidates and discussing the issues. There was no real sense of emotional manipulation or going after people’s fears,” said Gumenyuk.
While in Wilmington, she interviewed individuals who had attended the Trump rally and others who said they were voting for Trump. She asked them why they were supporting him and whether the issues had affected them personally.
She also spoke to city council president and former mayor Randy Riley. The two spoke for 45 minutes to an hour, according to Riley, about the obstacles the town has faced and how they were overcome.
“When I spoke to her she told me she was amazed at how Ohio was the center of the universe in a way,” said Riley. “It was a delight to talk to her.”
Throughout her journalism career, Gumenyuk has traveled all over the world and reported on major political and social events. Something she has picked up during her travels is that one needs to see the big picture.
“I picked up that you should stay away from generalizing things,” she said. “You have to both be very specific, but seek out a bigger picture.”
After the Trump rally, she traveled to Cleveland to attend Hillary Clinton’s rally. She will be staying in America until Saturday to cover the immediate aftermath of the election.
