Juan whistled and shook his head. "Sofia could have been down there," he said softly.
“What’s going on?” Maria asked.
Juan pointed at the TV, "Look on the news."
"Something's happening behind me, Fabian!" The reporter scrambled with his cameraman to get a better shot. "It appears that a large number of military-looking vehicles is arriving on the scene. They are following what looks to be a bulldozer heading for the bridge."
Maria gasped.
"I thank God she's not down there," Juan said. "Or she'd be in real trouble."
Juan stared at the long row of protestors on the screen. He could see a medium-sized bulldozer moving slowly along the road toward the Tempe Art Center, pushing barriers and parked vehicles out of its way. "That's a D-8," he said.
Maria tried to suppress a gasp, “What’d she say?”
Juan blew out a long breath. “She’s saying protests like this are happening in cities all across the country: New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, a bunch of them.”
The camera cut back to the news anchor. A big maps of the United States appeared with inset images of people rioting. They were all dressed in similar fashion, with drag queens walking next to masked men wearing Arab headgear and lots of people dressed in all black. Banners and signs of all kinds were displayed everywhere.
"What are they protesting?" Maria asked.
"They're mad about all the executive actions Trump says he's gonna take," Juan offered. "Y'know all those promises he made during the election? Now he's gonna make it happen and they can't stand it."
Maria wiped her hands with a kitchen towel and returned to her cooking. "I think that's good. Politicians should keep their promises. That's what's right."
"Well, they sure don't like it," Juan kicked his recliner back and pointed towards the screen. "They’re saying he's going to ruin the country. That he's gonna undo all the things they've accomplished.”
Maria shook her head. "No, he shouldn't do that. We've had too much trouble already."
"I think he should do it!" Juan cried. "Trump needs to Make America Great Again. Those pinche cabróns have tried to run America like the gangsters do back home."
Maria shook her head, "I don't like all the trouble. Everybody hates each other now."
"They're scared Trump's gonna do a great job like he did last time," Juan was on a roll. "Hey look, President Trump is speaking."
"...And I tell you, these violent protests are disgusting. We're going to put a stop to it. And we're going to do it very quickly," Trump announced from the tarmac of some big airport. A huge jet plane loomed behind him, while in front, a crowd of reporters surrounded him, shouting questions.
"I'm going to finish building the wall, Linda," the President addressed one of the reporters by name. "It's insane what is happening on our southern border, and it never should have happened. Everybody knows this. And this isn't going to be like 2016, where I had to fight the courts to let me build it. Now that I'm President again (President-Elect right now, but you will have your favorite President back again in just a few days), I will quickly restore the contracts and complete the projects that should never have been stopped. The people understand what's going on, and they won't take it anymore, I tell you. We're all sick of it, and it's going to change. And change quickly."
"Mr. President, Mr. President!" a reporter fought for his attention. "You've said you're going to have mass deportations of migrants. Can you tell us more about that?"
Trump glowered at the reporter, "They're called 'illegal aliens,' not migrants." The reporters went wild with questions, but Trump ignored them and continued his train of thought. "Two years ago, I started calling for the greatest mass deportation in American history. There's never been anything like it. We've got to get these illegals out of here. They've been emptying their prisons and insane asylums and sending them here."
An aide approached Trump and tried to indicate it was time to board the aircraft. Trump ignored the aide as well. These are not the best and brightest people, let me tell you. Did you know some of these countries are bragging (they're bragging!) that their crime rate has gone down? Gee, I wonder why our crime rates have been through the roof. No, we're going to round them up and send them back to their countries where they belong."
"What about the drug cartels?" Another reporter called desperately. "Are you going to stand by your claim that you will give drug smugglers the death penalty?"
"The average drug dealer kills 500 people during the course of their career. Think about that, 500 people," Trump pivoted, answering this new question without missing a stride. "All drug dealers, drug smugglers, and human traffickers will receive the death penalty. We're going to do it like they do in China. They will be judged with a quick trial."
"What next, Mr. President? Are you really going to eliminate the Department of Education?"
Trump pursed his lips, "We're going to eliminate the Department of Education. They've been indoctrinating our youth into a communist ideology and promoting the mutilation of their young bodies in the name of gender fluidity. I'm going to send all education administrative work back to the states where it belongs, because frankly, the states do a better job of it."
Trump turned to go when another reporter called out, "But what about health care? You said you would eliminate Obama Care during your last term."
Trump wheeled about, standing menacingly with his feet wide apart, "In 2017, just three Republicans prevented me from eliminating the monstrosity known as Obama Care (thank you, John McCain). But as you know, the political landscape has changed a lot since then. A lot. We have something much better to replace it with. Trust me, you're going to like it. You're going to like it a lot!"
There were dozens of other questions, but President-Elect Trump was already making his way up the long staircase into the jet's executive cabin.