Support for Republican incumbent Donald Trump is rare on social media, but posts supporting his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, fill Instagram feeds. Many of Trump’s supporters say they are hesitant to speak up about their political beliefs. Though they tend to be less vocal than their liberal counterparts, politically red students do exist at KHS.

“I’m starting to notice that there’s more of a silent majority,” Sophie Smith, senior and Young Conservatives Club president, said. “There are a lot of people who actually are Republican and conservative. I think more people are starting to believe in that, and I think that’s cool.”

Smith said that rather than a Trump supporter, she would call herself a conservative, agreeing with most of Trump’s views. However, Olivia Williams, junior, is proud to call herself a Trump supporter. Like Smith, most of Williams’ support for Trump stems from her conservative beliefs.

“I’ve always supported him because I think our country needs a more aggressive president,” Williams said. “I’ve always supported what he’s stood for politically, not necessarily personally. Politically, he’s always been an aggressive president and in the time after Obama when we were in pretty bad economic shape, I think he was what we needed.”

Williams said the strong points of Trump’s platform are promoting the military, lowering unemployment rates and boosting the economy before and during the pandemic. While she has been a supporter from the beginning of his presidency, other Trump fans are newer to the scene. Like Williams, Lukas Reinbold, junior, supports Trump because of his economic policy, as well as his policy on foreign affairs and alliances.

“I was not always a Trump supporter,” Reinbold said. “In 2016, I liked him more than Hillary because Hillary didn’t really fit with me. But then over the last six months, [Trump has] grown on me a little bit more. I like the fact that he is more of a law and order president.”

Reinbold, as well as Jimmy Winkelhoch, senior, are hopeful that Trump will win in November. Winkelhoch said he expects the country to improve in many ways if Trump stays in office for a second term, including lower unemployment rates and a better economy.

“I think our economy will rebound [from the COVID-19 pandemic],” Winkelhoch said. “I hope all the [Black Lives Matter] riots will not happen, and I think they’ll stop. I hope for [Trump] to continue to be tough on immigration. He’s brought a lot of jobs back to the United States which hasn’t happened in a while.”

These students haven’t forgotten about Trump’s reputation from the media for being offensive and brash. Winkelhoch said he acknowledges Trump’s weaknesses and wouldn’t choose to be friends with him, but still stands with his policy and platform. Smith agrees.

“I don’t think he’s good at thinking before he speaks,” Smith said. “That’s [his] biggest weakness, not thinking about how his words are going to affect other people. His biggest strengths are being a leader and not panicking when things get rough while running the country. I think he does his best to try to unite people even though that’s really hard right now.”

Despite his negative reputation, especially among Generation Z, Trump has won the favor of multiple KHS students, including Smith and Reinbold. Reinbold said that even though he may not agree with everything Trump says, he respects the president’s ability to follow through on his policy and accomplish a lot while in office.

“I love how Trump is a patriot,” Reinbold said. “I do believe that he loves this country and that’s something that really hits home with me. He preaches about American values and hard work, values that I believe in and that built this country.”