As Trump Visits Preston Hollow, Neighbors Disagree on His Presidency

Not long after Air Force One landed in Dallas on June 11, word was out – President Donald Trump would be dining in Preston Hollow.

Guesses as to where his $580,000-per-couple fundraising dinner would occur had been flying wildly for a week – would it be in Highland Park? Would it be in Preston Hollow?

Turns out, the answer was the Preston Hollow home of Energy Transfer CEO Kelcy Warren, whose company built the Dakota Access pipeline.

Trump started his visit with a roundtable discussion with faith leaders, law enforcement officials, and small business owners regarding race relations and policing at Gateway Church’s North Dallas campus.

Protestors, motorcade-watchers, and supporters lined Hillcrest Road. As the president’s meeting wound down to a close, news media and neighbors began to assemble outside Warren’s home on Park Lane, waiting to catch a glimpse of the motorcade – or in some cases, tell Trump what they thought of him.

A group of neighbors held a homemade sign that said “MAGA” and a large flag. They looked askance – but did not engage – their neighbor with the sign that said, “Crawl back to your bunker.”

Boys on bicycles stood off to the side, waiting for the motorcade. Another clutch of adults stood off to the side of a state trooper’s vehicle being used as a barricade, holding cell phones aloft, ready to take videos. Another neighbor stood to the side, in the shade, holding a campaign sign for Joe Biden.

Online, discussion about the President’s visit to Preston Hollow was just as mixed.

“Donald Trump does not represent the values of many great Republicans and many great Christians in this city, he needs to go. I applaud those that continue to turn away from him,” Shawna Brinkley said.

But another neighbor disagreed. “Your one opinion does not rule the majority. Go sit in your bunker,” Mimi Wallace said.

“Shawna, who (are) you going to vote for then? Rhetorical if you are a Republican, as you say, who will you vote for?” R.D. Taylor questioned.

“It speaks volumes that George W. Bush does not support Trump. George H. W. Bush voted for Hillary, and lovely Barbara Bush was very vocal about not supporting Trump. People before party,” Brinkley replied.

“R.D. Taylor the better question is, ‘If you are a Christian, who would you vote for?’ I am assuming before being Republican or Democrat, if faith and Christianity is something important in their lives, Christian values would go first,” responded Ana Lucia De La Garza Balli.

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Bethany Erickson

Bethany Erickson, former Digital Editor at People Newspapers, cut her teeth on community journalism, starting in Arkansas. She's taken home a few awards for her writing, including first place for her tornado coverage from the National Newspapers Association's 2020 Better Newspaper Contest, a Gold award for Best Series at the 2018 National Association of Real Estate Editors journalism awards, a 2018 Hugh Aynesworth Award for Editorial Opinion from the Dallas Press Club, and a 2019 award from NAREE for a piece linking Medicaid expansion with housing insecurity. She is a member of the Education Writers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Real Estate Editors, the News Leaders Association, the News Product Alliance, and the Online News Association. She doesn't like lima beans, black licorice or the word synergy.

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