In our second dispatch from the new president’s America, our writer in this polite corner of the Midwest sees tensions rise over tariffs and tattoos

“What was he convicted of?” someone asked.

“He had tattoos on his body,” she replied triumphantly.

“Hey, smartass!” shouted a woman in her sixties, jumping to her feet. “You want to see my tattoo?”

“Lady,” the Trump supporter said. “You don’t know what a tattoo is.”

“Yes I do, I’ve got one!” the woman shouted, tapping her chest.

The Trump supporter dismissed her with a wave of one hand. “I’ve had enough of you Democrats,” she said.