In the early days of Donald Trump’s second term as president, local Republican leaders and those who are serving in elected positions now or did in the past reflected on the administration’s first months, calling for patience amid the upheaval, which they seemed to view largely as a means to an end.
“There are so many things that could happen that probably won’t, and a lot of things that we may not be thinking about that may happen. Just dial the pressure down. Let’s wait and see,” Arthur (Tiger) Graham, a former East Hampton Village trustee, said last month.
“I have stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America. . . . Two days ago, I signed an order making English the official language of the United States of America. I renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America,” President Trump said during a joint address to Congress Tuesday night. The Republican side of the chamber celebrated with raucous ovations as Democrats sat stone-faced, refusing even to look across to the other side of the room. Some held signs with messages like, “No King” or “Musk Steals” on popsicle sticks.
“He’s in office for a few weeks, so I think it’s premature for people to lose their sh**,” Manny Vilar, the chairman of the East Hampton Town Republican Committee, said in early February.
He was supportive of the cabinet picks so far. “There are two things we know about Trump. He has no problem firing people, and he has a vision in mind. He campaigned on change. For someone who voted for Harris, that’s horrible, but the majority of our nation voted in favor of this president. Let’s give him the people he wanted. If they’re not fulfilling his visions, he’s probably going to fire them because that’s his M.O.”
The mayor of Sag Harbor Village, Thomas Gardella, a Republican, crossed party lines last fall to endorse John Avlon for Congress. He said he supports many of the president’s early moves. He thought Robert F. Kennedy Jr., confirmed on Feb. 13 as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, was a strong choice.
“We have a health care crisis. R.F.K. hopefully will change things up and get us to the mind-set where we are a healthier nation,” said Mayor Gardella. “Right now, we’ve accepted the fact that we’re going to get sick. It’s baked into the system.”
“R.F.K. is a smart guy,” agreed New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo. “A lot of people misrepresented his position and made him out to be some sort of radical anti-vaxxer. His kids are all vaccinated. I think he’ll be much less controversial once he starts to implement some policies.” He was less convinced about Pete Hegseth, confirmed on Jan. 24 as secretary of defense. “I know he oversaw some nonprofits but had nothing like the responsibilities for that cabinet position. I hope it will work out.”
Mr. Gardella and Mr. Palumbo had similar comments on the subject of immigration.
Mayor Gardella took part in an East Hampton Village press conference on Feb. 4 urging calm in the face of aggressively publicized federal immigration raids.
“If ICE comes out with a warrant for a criminal and asks us to assist to keep the public safe, of course we’re going to do that,” he said. “Our whole society is based on legal immigration. We have people here who don’t have legal status who have been here working hard. They’re part of our community. I would challenge them and say, ‘Do you want to be an American citizen? Henceforth you’re part of our society.’ There should be a path for those people to attain that. Our Congress should put something in place for them. It can’t be free. They have to pay. What’s fair is fair. But there should be a pathway for these people. Rounding people up and throwing them in vans is not a plan. There’s a human face here you have to take into consideration.”
“With immigration, the prior policy was an absolute disaster and unsafe,” said Senator Palumbo. “However much you want to couch it in political speak, the fact that we have an open border is extremely dangerous. Yes, an immigration bill will involve some sort of amnesty, but we need to make hard decisions and the federal government needs to stop fighting over nuances and generally campaigning on the issue. Let’s fix it. People don’t want amnesty. Maybe if you want to be a resident, you serve in the military and when you’re honorably discharged, you’re naturalized. There has to be something creative.”
“We have many law-abiding good citizens who have been here many years and it would be unfortunate if we started plucking them out of their homes,” he added.
Mr. Vilar agreed. “We need Congress to fix the immigration laws so people can actually immigrate. There is no question we need the population.”
Despite a 25-percent tariff going into effect on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, Trump’s stance on tariffs generally wasn’t taken literally, Republicans here view it more as a negotiation tactic.
“That’s just the way he starts the conversation,” Mr. Graham said. “He says ‘I’m going to put 25-percent tariffs on,’ but I don’t expect we’ll see a tariff on Canada or Mexico. I do expect we’ll see one on China, and on the European Union.”
Due perhaps to the president’s reputation as a negotiator, those interviewed for this article afforded him leniency to think out loud, “weaving” a policy as he went.
“I’m putting Gaza in the spitball category,” said Mr. Graham. President Trump has said that the United States will assume control of Gaza and turn it into the ‘Riviera of the Mideast,’ without offering many details. “Nothing in the past 50 years has worked. So, let’s throw something up, round up the flagpoles, and see who salutes,” he said, while conceding, “I don’t know if it’s a good or bad idea.”
“The fact that the president says something as wild as ‘We’re going to annex Canada,’ It’s bananas! It’s outrageous!” said Senator Palumbo. “However, Donald Trump has had reasonable success as a negotiator. When someone wants to build a 4,000-square-foot pool house, they go to the zoning board and say they want to build a 10,000-square-foot pool house. That’s a smart way to overshoot and then tone it down. We want reasonable tariffs with Canada. They’re not going to become the 51st state.”
“I don’t take everything that comes out of his mouth and assume it’s going to happen,” said Mayor Gardella. “That’s the way he leads. I’m assuming in his head there’s a reason for it.”
Senator Palumbo offered light criticism for some of the actions of the Department of Government Efficiency. “I like the mentality of being more efficient, however — the big ‘however’ — is you can’t start slashing people, like they were considering doing at the F.B.I. They fired a bunch of people involved in a unit overseeing our nuclear arsenal, and they had to reverse course. You can’t do this recklessly, especially with specific agencies dealing with national security.”
“I am much happier with the direction the country is going now instead of where it was prior,” said Mayor Gardella. “Look at U.S.A.I.D. and where taxpayer money was going. We have so many problems and issues in this country.”
“I have a lot of friends who are Democrats,” said Mr. Graham. “We don’t talk politics. They don’t bring it up with me, and I don’t bring it up with them. Everybody, unfortunately, we all seem to live in little silos. It’s very difficult to break down silos. When I was on village board, you had to figure out what you’re going to do. I’d say to people, ‘That’s not a hill I’m going to die on.’ There are a lot of hills that the Dems are planning to die on. Transgender men, or women, in women’s sports. Is that a hill they really want to die on? As a country we need to determine what hills really matter and maybe that then breaks down the silos.”
“I don’t have to agree with everything someone I support is doing and when those things come up, I should be able to speak out, that’s America,” said Mayor Gardella. “That’s why our country has been so successful.”
