Hunger striker for and against Trump

On August 19, Jim Dillehay put the word out via his Facebook page and blog (HungerStrike4DonaldTrump) that he was going on a hunger strike on August 22. Why? He’s hoping to get Trump’s attention long enough to get him thinking about the consequences of the Republicans losing this November’s election.

Dillehay is making his stand near the USS Midway, in Tuna Harbor Park, in front of the gigantic sculpture of a sailor kissing a nurse after WWII. Dillehay had planned to be there at noon but was delayed at the Tijuana border crossing. Originally from Phoenix and more recently from Oxnard, Dillehay now resides in Mexico with his family.

When I met him he was holding a large sign listing his demands. He also had a few smaller ones on a nearby park bench ready and waiting for others to join in his cause. Right off the bat, Dillehay said, “This is not a hoax.”

Dillehay then told me his reason for doing this at the statue.

“The kissing statue represents one of the most iconic images of the 20th Century. I have a feeling that the most iconic image of the 21st Century will be Trump’s face when he loses the election.”

As we were talking, a lady passing by asked him, “Are you for or against Trump?” He replied, “Both.” She then asked about his demands. “My main demand is that Donald Trump, or one of his associates, needs to convince me that he’s the best guy to beat Hillary Clinton.

“If he loses, everyone is going to associate the name Trump with being a loser. He likes to win — he can still be a kingmaker by giving it to [Mike] Pence or [John] Kasich. He needs to give it to someone that can win this thing and then campaign for them.”

At this point, people started gathering around. “And I want him to stop insulting people, that’s my third demand. He’s going to be the president, not the Sophomore-in-Chief, right?”

His other demand is either an interview with Fox’s Kimberly Guilfoyle (“because she’s hot”) or Jesse Watters.

Dillehay said what got him thinking about doing this was when he was in Oxnard doing event photography and also driving for Lyft and Uber. He asked everyone he drove the same question: are you happy with the presidential selection?

“I probably talked to 500 people. I can’t remember anyone saying they were happy; easily 95 percent were not. Also, this goes back to 2012. I feel that Mitt Romney should have been the 44th president. The Republicans spent all that money to see how they lost in 2012, and they didn’t even take their own advice.”

He said his main point of contention is that Trump can’t run the same kind of national campaign that he ran in the primary and actually win. He also said that the only reason Trump won the primary was because of the large Republican field. “If he had to face someone head-on, there’s no way he could have won that primary.”

His biggest fear if Clinton wins is the Supreme Court appointments. His biggest fear if Trump wins? “We can’t predict what he’ll say. Every day he insults somebody. It’s ridiculous. What if he’s elected? Oh, my God — what world leader is he going to insult? I don’t think he’s a great candidate at all.”

A former high school music teacher, Dillehay next sang me a humorous little tune titled, “I met my wife in Tijuana, Mexico,” accompanied by nearby jackhammers.

When asked if he would vote for Trump, he laughed as he said, “Yes, if he is the candidate, in spite of all that I told you. When it comes down to it, Republicans work for the many and the Democrats work for the individual; too much for the individual at the expense of the many.”

Then I asked him if he was not going to eat today. He said, “I’m actually not. I actually have a timer going here, so it’s been about an hour. My wife convinced me that I have to be willing to die for this for people to show up and you know what? She’s right. Isn’t that stupid?” He then asked, “How long can a person go without food, just drinking water? I’m going to have some repercussions from this.”

He ended by saying, “In the last few days, I think Trump has done a lot of good things but what’s going to be so hard is that we’re never going to forget that he insulted a war hero and the Gold Star Family. I get it, he’s trying to draw attention. And I guess if we knew him personally, like so many people say, ‘I know the guy personally, he’s not like that.’ That’s why I need to talk to him.”

Before I left, he told me he would be there all night and at least into tomorrow, not eating and sleeping in his car if he's allowed. He also made me promise to give Trump his number if he called.