‘It’s like you have this disease’: Trump supporters in New York complain they cannot admit they back president
Backers of president allege fears of ‘physical violence’, retaliation and damage to business amid calls for boycott
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Your support makes all the difference.Supporters of Donald Trump have claimed they are being forced to hide their support for the president in parts of New York state.
Backers of the president in the Hamptons, an affluent area in Long Island, have complained they cannot admit their allegiances publicly without fearing reprisals.
“It’s like you have this disease and people want to run away from you,” a shop owner in Southampton told the New York Post. adding that Trump supporters in the area are “all in the closet” and have to lie to people around them.
An art consult who said they were also a fan of the president said: “It’s a matter of survival. We are hitting a very dark and strange place as a country."
Most of Suffolk County, which includes the Hamptons, supported Mr Trump in the 2016 US presidential election. He won some 52 per cent of the vote there, compared to Ms Clinton’s 45 per cent.
Another person told the newspaper that he was afraid of being attacked if found wearing a MAGA hat, claiming “you really need to fear physical violence.”
The article did not cite any specific incidents of Democratic violence or retaliation against Trump supporters in the area.
The fears have allegedly intensified after celebrities including Chrissy Teigen and Billy Eichner called for a boycott of billionaire Stephen Ross’s brands for hosting a fundraiser for Mr Trump in the Hamptons this weekend.
Stephen Ross is the owner of the Miami Dolphins and the chairman of the Related Companies, which controls luxury gyms Equinox and SoulCycle.
Tickets for the Trump fundraising event reportedly started at $100,000 (£82,185), which included a photo opportunity with Mr Trump.
In response to the report, multiple people including Miami Dolphins players criticised Mr Ross, with many calling for a boycott and threatening to cancel their memberships to Equinox and SoulCycle.
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