President’s Day 2017 was marked by "Not My President protests" from coast to coast. While Seattle did not hold a rally during the day, an "outrage onstage" concert is schedule for Monday night in West Seattle.
After one whirlwind month in office, opinions and approval ratings of the president could not be more different, depending on who you ask.
“For me my biggest concerns are about immigration,” said Alycia Delmore of Seattle. "I have contact with a lot of immigrants in my work, and people are terrified, because they feel like they’re being targeted, and a lot of hate is being directed at them right now."
Rachel Seligman said she would give the president a C-, so far.
“I feel like the president is trying to do too much and not go through the proper channels and not have the proper checks and balances that are necessary,” Seligman continued.
President Donald Trump has signed more than a dozen executive orders during his first weeks in office. The most controversial remains the extreme vetting order, put on hold by a Seattle judge as it remains the focus of continued legal challenges.
Related: Trump extreme vetting executive order rewrite; What we know via Associated Press
Related: List of executive orders and analysis via NBC
“I give President Trump the credit to say let’s move forward, let’s get the train going. He was elected to move forward and advance when it comes to protecting the country and letting in immigrants, legally, with the proper procedures,” said Bruno Kelpsas of King County.
Kelpsas, who worked on the campaign during election season, has applied for a job within the administration. A number of positions have yet to been filled, and several top cabinet picks still await Senate confirmation.
While critics describe a White House in chaos and disarray, Kelpsas views it different.
“It’s going to happen when you’re moving bold,” he said.
“That happens any time you’re coming into a large institutional organization, and you have to make a tectonic change and to raise the bar.”
"The grade I would give is an A. He’s been so bold, so effective, even before he got into office," said Kelpsas.
Ricky Shanks, who's visiting Seattle from Georgia, agrees.
“Finally, we got somebody that does what he says,” said Shanks.
“It’s not that I have a great deal of confidence in him, but he’s putting good people in important places,” Shanks continued.
However, that’s another source of disagreement between supporters and critics, who worry about an inexperienced cabinet unfamiliar with the inner workings of Washington.
“He needs more input from people who do have the proper qualifications,” said Seligman.
“Even though he won the presidency, he won by very small margin. He seems to disregard entire half of United States,” said Jimmy Johnson.
Johnson would give the president this advice:
“Start listening to the other half more. Take more of their feelings into consideration.”
