Mr. Rogers' Widow Calls President Trump "a Horrible Person"

Fred Rogers was known for being kind to everyone and inviting them into his neighborhood to be his neighbor. He looked for the good in everyone. His 92-year-old widow has tried to do the same. However, she has found it extremely difficult to say anything good about President Donald Trump. In fact, in an interview with The Daily Beast, she did not beat around the bush or mince her words. She came right out and said, "I think he's just a horrible person."

That was not the only negative thing Joanne Rogers told The Daily Beast. She added that she would never invite him into her neighborhood because he is “pathologically ill” and “mentally ill.” However, Trump held a two-hour campaign in Fred and Joanne Rogers’ hometown of Latrobe, Pennsylvania on Thursday, September 3, 2020. During his speech, he told people to vote by mail and still go to the polls and vote. Everybody knows it is illegal to vote twice in an election.

Fred and Joanne were married for 50 years before he died from stomach cancer at the age of 74 on February 27, 2003. Joanne knew her husband very well, and she doesn't think he could find very much to like about Trump. Mr. Rogers especially encouraged and set good examples for kids and others most of his life. Trump does just the opposite.

Mr. Rogers was as different from President Trump as night is from day. While Mr. Rogers was honest and saw good in people, Trump isn't kind to everyone and he doesn't invite everyone to be his neighbor.

Joanne Rogers said if her late husband were still alive he would not have said anything publicly about Trump. Fred always avoided talking about politics for fear it would complicate the lives of kids who watched his show where everything was positive. Mr. Rogers thought the kids would be very confused and wouldn't trust adults who lie and call people negative names.

Joanne said, “Fred tried to stay pretty quiet about politics, basically because his program was for children." She added that she doesn't have a program for children. Therefore, she can certainly share her opinion about what she thinks about Donald Trump, his behavior, and how he is running the country. Based on her interviews, the public knows exactly what Mrs. Rogers thinks about the Republican candidate who wants to live in the White House for four more years.

Mrs. Rogers was asked why she feels so strongly against the current president. “She said, I think maybe the fact that Mr. Trump seldom tells the truth. I can’t believe anything he says, not even the simplest thing.”

Joanne said Trump not only lies but he also calls people negative names such as "losers" and "suckers." He called Meghan Markle and Kamala Harris "nasty." He called Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe" and said his intelligence is in doubt. He has called Senator Bernie Sanders "Crazy Bernie." Another senator he has called “goofy Elizabeth Warren.” When Beto O'Rourke was campaigning during the presidential race, Trump called him "a stone-cold phony" and "a flake."

Joanne Rogers told The Los Angeles Times, "I want to vote for whoever is going to beat Trump.” She added that she would feel bad if Trump wins the 2020 Presidential Election. She said if he does win, she would go into mourning. Mrs. Rogers is undoubtedly saying what others are saying or at least thinking.

Mrs. Rogers describes Trump's running mate the way her late husband probably would. About former Vice President Joe Biden she said, “I think he’s kind. I think we all need somebody like Biden to run the country. She exclaimed, “I am a very big Biden fan.”

Joanne says she believes Biden is not only a kind and honest man but also something who is badly needed in these terrible times to be the commander-in-chief. She said she is not bothered by his age or that sometimes he has trouble with his speech. She says it probably has something to do with his old stutter. She remembers the video that aired during the Democratic National Convention that showed Biden helping 13-year-old Brayden Harrington with a stuttering problem because Biden used to stutter himself.