As a board member for the Women for Trump Coalition I thought I would reach out to some of the women I have met through the coalition to learn how they were holding up through the pandemic. I spoke to women in Texas, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Both in Pennsylvania and Ohio several counties are experiencing a Stay at Home Order. Many of the women I spoke to were able to easily make the transition to working from home, and others were stay-at-home mothers, and as a result, not much has changed for them in terms of being at home. However, many expressed frustrations at not being able to go outside the house “at will”. Women are now looking at a drive to the grocery store, walking the dog, or a stroll with family members as the highlight of their days. Seeing a hugely positive aspect to this, Dr. Shirley Lazorchak, said she “always appreciated the nurturing aspects of home so this quarantine is a perfect place to be at this time. In fact, a bit joyous as I see it as stolen time - extra time.”

     Women have been creative with the extra time they have on their hands. They are finding that implementing a systematic plan to purge every area of their home, as Lawna in Pennsylvania has done, to be a good way to keep sane. She said it has helped to keep her busy and she ultimately experienced a great sense of accomplishment.

     Sandy in Florida has her calendar filled for the next few weeks. That may appear to be counter intuitive for those of us who have cleared our calendars. But she was very clever to establish a schedule for exercising, meal planning, making phone calls, or drafting emails to friends and family to check on them. Many others were happy for the opportunity to complete projects that had long been on the back burner. No longer necessary to wait and hope to eventually squeeze in those projects during their daily routine in the days before coronavirus. Dr. Lazorchak encourages women to shower, dress, and put on make-up every day and avoid the temptation to stay in pj’s. This is powerful advice. Staying in your pj's all day can lead to a sense of isolation and entrapment. A feeling that you are disconnected from the comings and goings of the world outside, not unlike being in a hospital room.

A very large majority of the women I spoke to have spent increased amounts of time in the Bible or watching sermons on television. More than one person expressed gratitude for the availability of televised religious services. Retired PA Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen, said she was “in constant contact with other like- minded friends and family. We pray together and encourage each other.” Facetime has been an excellent way to connect with others as well.

Watching comedies on television has served as therapy. Dr. Lazorchak said;  “with some imaginative memes circulating on social media, I’ve experienced some of the biggest belly laughs that I have had in years.” Angela a small business owner in Florida, a girl after my own heart, said: “she is consuming more wine than she has since child birth.”

All of the women I spoke to have made it a point to  avoid  too much exposure to news programs and updates, preferring instead to tune in for President Trump’s briefings. Limiting the amount of “breaking news” has helped them to maintain a calm and peace. The news business is more competitive than ever and their goal is to generate clicks. Doom and gloom generate clicks, and we don't need any more panic than we have in the world outside the news bubble. They don't care how it makes you feel, just how you react.

The media wants us to have less information. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough thinks the networks should cut away from Trump’s  coronavirus briefings. Margaret Sullivan with the Washington Post had a headline that read; “The Media Must Stop Live-Broadcasting Trump’s Dangerous, Destructive Coronavirus Briefings”, and Rachel Maddow said she would “stop putting those briefings on live TV.” The Fake News doesn’t want the American people to receive updates from their President. Is there anything else we need to know about these people? They don’t want us to witness his decisive leadership. They would rather you watch their fear-mongering broadcasts instead. Women are rejecting that while embracing the President’s transparency.

Impressively, the women noted in this story have shown courage in the face of this crisis. Their faith has afforded them the peace they feel is necessary to continue to care for themselves and their loved ones. If there was anything that challenged that peace it was a concern for their fellow Americans. What concerned Monica from Pennsylvania, most was the impression that not everyone was taking the directives about personal responsibility for prevention to heart.

Brittany, a young mother of two in Pennsylvania is worried that “we are underestimating the potential economic destruction.” She said she is worried less about the virus, than she is about the economy, the loss of jobs, and the disruption of small businesses. Women worry about political partisanship. They wonder; will these people ever get anything done? And when they finally do, how will it play out in my life?

When I asked the women if their support for President Trump has wavered at all through the crisis, Lawna said she completely trusts President Trump and his team to manage this crisis.  She believes he will be reelected by a landslide. Barbara, CEO of large manufacturing firm in Texas believes that President Trump is working hard, and listening to the science behind the quarantine. “Stopping the spread by limiting the air traffic from China in late January was brilliant. He is the best president in my lifetime” she said. Jamie, President of a behavioral health agency in Ohio  feels “He really has risen to the occasion. His move to integrate the private sector with the government for expedited results...brilliant. Knowing he cares about America as he does, reduces my stress at a time like this”.

Judge Cheryl Allen said her “views regarding Trump have not changed.” She sincerely believes “he is doing the best that can humanly be done and he and his team need our prayers not our critique.”

Who President Trump is matters to women. One of the reasons he had our vote in 2016 – and will again in 2020 is that we see him as a protector of those things we hold dear. Not only do we women recognize that our values are under attack, we believe he is committed to defending those values while the Democrats are not. This could not be more evident than what we have witnessed recently with the Corona Virus Relief package. Nancy Pelosi’s Coronavirus stimulus includes liberal agenda items like ballot harvesting-  which is nothing less than legalizing voter fraud, stricter emission standards for airlines; including a mandate to submit a carbon impact statement for each flight to be provided to passengers ( I guess to make them feel guilty) and bailing out the post office. Add to that 10's of millions for the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, $300,000,000 for public broadcasting and more subsides for wind and solar. Plus a laundry list of progressive wish list they could never get passed on a vote. Bottom line- Democrats are holding aid to the American people hostage unless or until they get their list of demands met. President Trump’s transparency and decisiveness through this crisis has left us with the peace of mind that he is combatting this pandemic with true leadership and that the welfare of the American people is his primary concern.

We women are looking very closely at those who have been charged with the preservation of our nation and our people and taking note of those who have served us and those who have failed us. The actions by the Democrats will be remembered long after this virus has gone. The Democrats care more about their liberal agenda than they do about representing and safeguarding American lives. We will remember who interfered with much needed assistance for struggling companies and citizens. We won’t forget who it was that thought that the Green New Deal was as important as aid. Or who spoke out against closing our boarders in the time of an invading pandemic. For Democrats it is always about politics, not about the American people.

Their view of government is not that of stewardship over what has been handed down to them. Their view of government is that it is a hammer; a tool of social, cultural and economic architecture. That's why it's always about power for them. Without the power of majority, they cannot wield the hammer of government. The more power they accumulate, the less liberty is left to us.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting a woman’s constitutional right to vote. As we head to the polls this year – be assured we women do so determined to wrestle that hammer out of their hands before they can do any more damage.

President Trump has long been considered the Promises Made President. For we women – he continues to be the promises kept president. And we like a man who keeps his promises. 

Not surprisingly, women continue to be strident and strong. Courageous for the sake of those they love and confident in the God they worship. Like the woman in Proverbs – they are women who have prepared their households and can smile at the days to come.