MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
And, finally today, as we've been hearing, President Donald Trump's first week brought controversy and ferocious headlines, huge marches and legal battles. So we thought we'd end the program today in a quieter place in a small town that voted heavily for the new president. We sent North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann out this morning to gather some first impressions.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Outside a little diner in Elizabethtown, N.Y., I meet the Jackson brothers. They grew up on Long Island, but for decades they've lived here in Essex County, a deeply rural corner of the Adirondack Mountains where the small towns voted for Donald Trump. When I ask about the new president's first week in office, they jump at the chance to talk about it.
TIM JACKSON: The guy's just got in there. He needs a chance. You know? I mean, it's only been - everybody - he signed this, he signed that, he's done this, he's done - it's only been a week.
MANN: That's Tim Jackson, the younger brother. He wears a black leather jacket and Harley Davidson cap. His brother, Bill, wears a winter hat with ear flaps and kind of a "Duck Dynasty" beard. He says Donald Trump has captured some of his own spirit.
BILL JACKSON: But I'm also a rebel from way back, and I'm sick of people who just stand by. And now someone's gone in there and stirred the waters up. Boy, them Democrats are pissed, and they're trying to come up with every way they can to push him down.
MANN: I ask about one issue in particular - the new president's executive order temporarily banning refugees from seven Muslim countries. Bill Jackson says it's common sense. He thinks there's good reason to keep Muslims out of America.
B. JACKSON: I feel the same way. I feel that if a Muslim woman wants to move into this country, she needs to leave her towel home because the reason this country is here and safe today is because of Jesus Christ. We were one nation under God. The Muslims are into Allah. They can't live there anymore because all the turmoil and unrest. Here, we still have somewhat peace, so if you're going to come here to enjoy this peace, follow our rules and be one nation under God.
MANN: What about the idea of religious liberty that this is a nation where you can worship whatever god you want?
B. JACKSON: That is something that I believe has come along with political correctness and all this other garbage.
MANN: This is the moment when the conversation takes a surprising turn. Tim Jackson, the younger brother, chimes in again. He says he actually has big reservations about Donald Trump and his ideas.
T. JACKSON: I wanted Hillary in the worst way. I wanted Hillary. I just thought she was a strong woman. I believe she helped him, Bill, run a lot of this stuff.
MANN: But it turns out Tim didn't vote. He stayed home Election Day, and Donald Trump won the White House. So he thinks the millions of people like him who didn't cast ballots in November missed their moment and now should give the new president and his supporters their shot at running the government.
T. JACKSON: You had the chance to vote, and that's where - with me, it's like I just - I feel I don't have a say - you know? - in it.
MANN: So after week one, these brothers say they are paying attention, discussing, debating, even fighting over where the new president is taking the country. But for now, they're both with President Trump - the one watching guardedly, the other with real excitement. For NPR News, I'm Brian Mann in Essex County in Northern New York.