A 9-year-old girl from Newport, Maine might be Donald Trump's biggest fan. Although Ava Lovley won't be eligible to vote for another nine years, she's very passionate about the candidate and considers herself to be a superfan. Last week, Ava's mother, Kim, surprised her daughter with news that they would be attending a Trump rally in nearby Farmington, NH, and, well, check out her reaction:
Ava is a Huge Trump supporter.... She is in tears when she finds out we're going to see Mr. Trump in New Hampshire Monday.
Posted by Jason-Kim Lovley on Saturday, January 23, 2016
Ava also created her own Trump-themed shirt to wear to the rally. While her parents consider themselves to be Republicans, they told the Washington Post that they're "not political people" at all and had not settled on a candidate. (They were, however, impressed with Trump's rally.) According to Kim, her daughter likes Trump for his hair and for his outspoken tendencies.
At the rally, Ava's dream came true as Trump drew a checkmark on her hand, "for good luck."
While some on the internet are calling for CPS to remove the child from her parents, I think it's a good thing that they're willing to entertain their daughter's interests, even if they initially were different than what they believe. Ava's choice in a candidate aside, one has to applaud her for at least taking an interest in the political process. While nine may seem absurdly young to even know what a "Republican" or "Democrat" is, if the person who is elected later this year is re-elected to a second term, his or her policies will certainly have an impact on Ava's life by the time the 2024 election rolls around and she's looking for a job or going to college. While she may eventually grow to cringe at her 9-year-old antics, at least she's interested in something other than the latest show on the Disney Channel.
When I was Ava's age, it was the 2000 election and I was a fan of George W. Bush. (I mean, as much as a 9-year-old can be.) While I certainly wouldn't have been moved to tears at the concept of attending a Bush/Cheney rally (nor was it likely that my Democrat mother would have taken me to one), that election sparked an interest in politics and the political process that obviously still holds true today. So while it's easy to laugh at Ava's hysterics over a very controversial candidate, it's also important to remember that she's nine, and her interest in politics is certainly going to evolve from this point out.
