GALLIPOLIS, Ohio-I’ve been a journalist for 21 years. I’ve never struggled to write something as much as I have this column.

Assignment: go Back to where I grew up, here in the heart of Ohio’s Appalachian region across the river from West Virginia, talk to family and friends and my native people and offer a perspective on the heartland of trump that few others in the media can .

Trump received 76% of the vote in Gallia County three years ago, his largest margin among Southeast Ohio counties. His wide success in Ohio’s Appalachian region – he won 30 of the state’s 32 such counties – played a big role in sending him to the White house.

This poor neighborhood, nestled among the scenic Appalachian foothills about 150 miles East of Cincinnati, continues to stand firm for trump. And Ohio state could very well play a role in re-electing him, with the exception of impeachment.

That is, if the Democratic candidates miraculously start talking about real issues like jobs and security. Tuesday night will actually be a great time for them to start addressing everyday Americans when the candidates debate 125 miles North of here in Westerville.

I thought it would be a fun story to make.

It wasn’t.

Here’s why: Many of my family, friends, former teachers, coaches, classmates and Church gather – and all of their friends-in this County of 30,000 people are trump supporters, and I don’t want to put them there, by name, for trolls to feast on.

I love my hometown and its people too much.

These people are already getting ridiculed enough for being from Appalachia. They are good, respectful people who are focused on taking care of their families. They want to be left alone. They don’t care about stupid Twitter wars, and I don’t want to be responsible for pushing them into a vicious rhetorical crossfire between left-wing activists and trump sycophants.

Democrats not reaching out: no one votes to despise. If the Democrats don’t change their pitch, I can switch to trump.

I quickly came to the realization that this would be a problem shortly after arriving for my 21’2 night stay in early September. I’ve found that a lot of people don’t want to talk about trump. They didn’t want to put themselves out there for fear of being verbally bludgeoned on Facebook and Twitter or in the grocery store or even in Church.

And those who wanted to talk, well, they seemed to speak for those who wanted to be silent: they were tired of some cable news networks and the left-wing political class stereotyping them as a bunch of toothless, racist, backwater.  

“I don’t want to talk about it because you can’t have an opinion if that’s their opinion,” an African-American trump supporter said of the left. “Either you believe as they believe, or you are a racist or a homophobe. The reason I’m working is because of what trump did. I just want to put on a hard hat and go to work every day.”

The man, who added that he is a registered Democrat, spoke to Enquirer photographer albert Cesare and me for nearly an hour on his porch on a hot evening. He said a lady in his Church had given him grief for supporting the “racist” trump, but the man said he had not seen strong evidence that was true.

The man then abruptly said he didn’t want part of the story, walked into his house and closed the front door, leaving us sitting on the porch dumbfounded.

I didn’t blame him one bit.

I put over 100 miles on my SUV driving around Gallia County, where I grew up in a middle-class home on a 100-acre farm. I walked around our small downtown Gallipolis, population 3,500 and the County seat. I hung out for hours at Remo’s Italian hot dogs, Bob Evans, Montgomery’s barbershop, Shake Shoppe, Courtside Bar & Grill and McDonald’s – all cool places.

I haven’t seen Maga hat wearers.

I saw two trump flags hanging on the porch, each at opposite ends of the County.

I saw an attacking trump bumper sticker and it was on a luxury SUV. My colleague saw the “trump 2020” Mat on the houseboat.

Teaching government in the trump era: I’ve been teaching the US government for 40 years. Thanks to Trump, I doubt the Founders ‘ plan.

Ironically, I often see more remaining Obama bumper stickers during my 15-minute commute to the Enquirer than I have seen trump signs home.

If I come back in a year, maybe things will be different. Or maybe it’s a sign that there isn’t this widespread obsession with trump – and never has been – in the areas where he dominated the election. It may be hard for some to understand this, but don’t believe everything you read in the Alt-reality world of social media.

Every person with whom I was talking about people in General, saying: 

He was the lesser of two evils – and still is.

I like what he does with the economy.

I wish he’d stop tweeting. 

It seems that’s what trump supporters in Greater Cincinnati – and everywhere in Ohio-are saying.

Look, there’s no deep meaning to why-do-these-people-love-trump-so-much-sense here. Gallia County has long been truly Republican.

It is the home of the late Bob Evans, where his namesake restaurant was founded in 1948. His family’s money has influenced GOP politics in Gallia County for decades. Bill Clinton in 1996 is the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the district. Prior to that, the district had not gone democratic in a presidential election since 1964 (Lyndon Johnson).

Gallia County supported Republican Mike Devin in his unsuccessful bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2006. Every other County in Southeast and Eastern Ohio went for Sherrod brown.

It’s easy to see why Economics is top of mind. Gallia County is one of the poorest counties in the state. Power stations and the region’s main hospital are among the few options for well-paid jobs. 

Trump’s policy is rooted in reality: my son was killed by an illegal immigrant. Neither he nor Molly Tibbetts deserved to die.

I remember coming home ten years ago and there were four of these scruffy, cash-strapped places within a 2-mile radius. All the shops where we bought clothes-Haskins-Tanner clothiers, Knight’s Department store, Carl’s Shoe store – were closed.

But residents have optimism like I haven’t seen in a long time. The unemployment rate in Gallia County is 5.6%, the lowest since 1979. Most of the shops in Gallipolis have businesses again. Some residents associate this with trump, although the economy showed signs of recovery before his election.

Trump does not deserve praise. I always felt that he played places such as Gallipolis, Ohio and other “blue collar” areas of the economy.

Everything is better, Yes, but that doesn’t mean happy days are here again. Gallia County’s workforce is 20% smaller than in the early 1970s, and the current unemployment rate is still higher than in the United States (3.8%) and Ohio (4.2%).

It was an unrealistic promise that the factories were coming back, and that has bothered me so far. But I’m glad people have hope again.

I’ll be back home a few more times before the 2020 election. Maybe I’ll keep you posted on whether this area is breaking away from trump or solidifying around the President as the impeachment process continues.

Jason Williams is a political columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer, where this column originally appeared. Subscribe and listen to his free podcast, “This is so Cincinnati,” on Apple Podcasts and most other podcast platforms. Follow him on Twitter @jwilliamscincy.