Nellie Dulci spent Thursday night with dozens of other metro Atlantans watching former President Donald Trump deliver the closing speech of the Republican National Convention with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.
“Maybe they could sort of put a little bit of restrictions around guns?” she said, looking around the lobby of the Springs Cinema & Taphouse, where state Republicans held a watch party for Trump’s address.
The news over the weekend, that a 20-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate Trump during one of his campaign rallies in Pennsylvania, left her shaken.
“It was a scary moment, especially when it hits close to home,” she said. She has lost family members due to gun violence.
Dulci, 41, is the kind of Georgia voter the Trump campaign is hoping to win over: a Black woman in Fulton County. She has been undecided over whom to support in the election and was open to hearing what Trump had to say. She said she would consider voting for him if he moderated some of his views, such as on gun restrictions.
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
The event, hosted by the Republican parties in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, drew supporters faithful to Trump since his presidential run in 2016, as well as voters curious about his message following the weekend’s attack and many interested in seeing how many the party’s big tent can hold.
The lobby was adorned by a mixture of American flags and posters featuring characters from “Despicable Me 4″ and “Inside Out 2.” Inside, attendees were excited and hopeful, clapping frequently during Trump’s remarks.
“I’m running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there’s no victory in winning for half of America,” Trump said during his speech.
Frank Garritano, 51, who describes himself as a “unicorn,” approved.
He is a conservative who identifies as bisexual and is dating a man. A Los Angeles transplant who moved to Reynoldstown during the 2023 writers strike, Garritano works in television and film, which he described as “a pretty liberal industry.”
Efforts to place him in a box leave him frustrated. “The only box is being American. We all have differences we celebrate, but our main goal shouldn’t be to separate,” he said.
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
He compared being conservative on the set of a television production to being gay 40 or 50 years ago.
“It’s almost like you have to come out. It keeps a lot of people in the closet because they don’t want all the backlash,” he said.
He also defended Trump’s record on LGBTQ+ issues, siding with him in opposing gender-affirming treatment for children under 18.
“We’re not the same person at 12 that we are at 20,” he said. “It has nothing to do with being anti-trans. It’s about protecting the youth.”
Sam Murray, 40, said he was interested in seeing whether Trump’s address takes on a new tone following the attack on his life.
“There are certain things that I need to hear from him. I’m going to vote for him, but there’s reassurances I want to hear,” he said.
What Murray most wants to see out of a second term from Trump is bipartisanship.
“There are things that the left has on their agenda that I think a lot of (Republicans) paint as immediately not good,” he said.
But lawmakers should work with each other “to reach mutually agreeable solutions to the problems,” he said.
Murray, who lives in Sandy Springs, said he wants to see Trump fulfill a promise to create an economy that supports hiring more workers because he has struggled in the current job market to find new employment.
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC
Marc Hayes, 80, said he has been affected by rising prices, especially because he is on a fixed income.
“Things cost more than they should, in my view,” he said.
But he, too, wants to see Trump encourage dialogue, rather than divisive rhetoric.
“I want to hear reconciliation and joining in unity with the country. That’s what we need, so I hope that’s what we hear,” said Hayes, who lives in Brookhaven. “We need to stop accusing each other of all sorts of salacious crimes and threats to democracy. I don’t think they serve the common good.”
In response to Republican lawmakers who accused President Joe Biden of instigating the assassination attempt on Trump, including Georgia Congressman Mike Collins, Hayes said, “I don’t believe conspiracy theories.”
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