Trump v Clinton -7: The view from Portsmouth USA

With seven days to go to the US Presidential election, the campaign continues to be a major talking point in the two American cities of Portsmouth.

The Virginian-Pilot, based in the naval port of Portsmouth, Virginia, says Vietnamese and other Asian-Americans in the state have shifted from being majority Republican supporters to overwhelmingly Democrat.

The paper says: ‘Trying to reverse a generation of Democratic gains, the Republican party is stepping up its outreach to the Asian American community. But Donald Trump’s polarizing rhetoric may have the opposite effect on an increasingly important voting bloc.’

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And guest columnist Rekha Basu says the election is about ‘nasty’ women and ‘bad hombres.’ She says: ‘It’s no coincidence that the first time a woman stands a chance of becoming president, the man picked to run against her boasts of the size of his phallus and of sexually assaulting women. Nor is it coincidence that people at Donald Trump’s rallies freely call for his female opponent to be locked up or even killed.’

in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Portsmouth Herald reader Dave Bickford’s letter to the editor asks: ‘How can anyone possibly vote for Hillary Clinton given all her lies about the private email server and the unbelievable corruption of the Clinton Foundation exposed by WikiLeaks?’

And, says the paper, state and local elections officials are preparing for disruptions at the polls on November 8 as the bitter campaign season comes to an end. The paper reports: ‘Numerous New Hampshire residents concerned about firearms and other intimidation at polling places have already called the N.H. attorney general’s office, said Brian Buonamano, an assistant state attorney general who oversees elections.’

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