Politics: Trump Gawkers: Trump_Gawkers_042

Debra Tomarin takes selfie in front of Trump Tower, the current residence of Republican President elect Donald Trump, in New York, NY on December 08, 2016. Tomarin is a real estate agent and retired psychotherapist - and lives in Palm Beach, FL, down the street from Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. On people protesting Trump's nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency - a man who has sued the EPA more than a dozen times to block air, water and climate protections - outside of Trump Tower, she said: {quote}Protesting is irrelevant and wrong, and won't make a difference. He won't even see it, and people don't stop to pay attention. We have to move on. It's too late to sell anti-Donald Trump buttons. They should be asked to leave. Sure, they have a right to be out here, but what about his right to live in a home without someone standing in front of it with a sign?{quote}On climate change, she said, {quote}I believe climate change is real. I am not concerned about this because of his choices of cabinet people and because his children understand climate change is real. But maybe he hasn't been paying attention so far, being so busy with his business, and now he has to.{quote}On Pruitt as the choice to lead the EPA, she said: {quote}Pruitt as the head of the EPA is an interesting appointee. I think that's making a statement that he'll turn this guy around. This guy, Pruitt, is aware of climate change despite being against it. Trump did this because he's gotta please the people. Trump has a strategy - he takes the underdog and turns him around because he likes a challenge. Sometimes people do the opposite of what they want to do, because they like a challenge. There's a method to his madness. You don't want a guy you can just push over, and he wants a challenge in this guy. This is his strategy - who's going to pay attention to a guy who is simply for battling climate change as opposed to a guy who's against it, yet actually ends up battling it? Now that's a wake-up call.{quote}-{quote}Trump Gawkers{quote} is a visceral look at what draws people to Trump Tower, through in-depth interviews and still photos - a project I started the day after the election. At first, I simply followed where my assignments sent me, but then found myself returning to the place on my own, unable to look away - and I wasn’t alone. Hoards of people undertake the trek, bearing security and weather roadblocks, to stare, gawk, absorb, record. The magnetism to Trump Tower (and by extension, to the man in the tower,) manifests in the sheer numbers of daily visitors, as well as in the fascination etched across their faces. Upon first look, the time so many spend there seems like sport and amusement, but underneath upturned eyes and selfie smiles prevails an undercurrent of anxiety - and not just for those who didn't want Trump in the Oval Office. Some of the electorate that voted against Hillary is now unsure for which version of Trump they voted. People's upward gazes, no matter their political views, seek answers: How could this happen? Or now that it has, what will it mean?

Debra Tomarin takes selfie in front of Trump Tower, the current residence of Republican President elect Donald Trump, in New York, NY on December 08, 2016. Tomarin is a real estate agent and retired psychotherapist - and lives in Palm Beach, FL, down the street from Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago. On people protesting Trump's nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency - a man who has sued the EPA more than a dozen times to block air, water and climate protections - outside of Trump Tower, she said: "Protesting is irrelevant and wrong, and won't make a difference. He won't even see it, and people don't stop to pay attention. We have to move on. It's too late to sell anti-Donald Trump buttons. They should be asked to leave. Sure, they have a right to be out here, but what about his right to live in a home without someone standing in front of it with a sign?"

On climate change, she said, "I believe climate change is real. I am not concerned about this because of his choices of cabinet people and because his children understand climate change is real. But maybe he hasn't been paying attention so far, being so busy with his business, and now he has to."

On Pruitt as the choice to lead the EPA, she said: "Pruitt as the head of the EPA is an interesting appointee. I think that's making a statement that he'll turn this guy around. This guy, Pruitt, is aware of climate change despite being against it. Trump did this because he's gotta please the people. Trump has a strategy - he takes the underdog and turns him around because he likes a challenge. Sometimes people do the opposite of what they want to do, because they like a challenge. There's a method to his madness. You don't want a guy you can just push over, and he wants a challenge in this guy. This is his strategy - who's going to pay attention to a guy who is simply for battling climate change as opposed to a guy who's against it, yet actually ends up battling it? Now that's a wake-up call."

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"Trump Gawkers" is a visceral look at what draws people to Trump Tower, through in-depth interviews and still photos - a project I started the day after the election. At first, I simply followed where my assignments sent me, but then found myself returning to the place on my own, unable to look away - and I wasn’t alone. Hoards of people undertake the trek, bearing security and weather roadblocks, to stare, gawk, absorb, record. The magnetism to Trump Tower (and by extension, to the man in the tower,) manifests in the sheer numbers of daily visitors, as well as in the fascination etched across their faces. Upon first look, the time so many spend there seems like sport and amusement, but underneath upturned eyes and selfie smiles prevails an undercurrent of anxiety - and not just for those who didn't want Trump in the Oval Office. Some of the electorate that voted against Hillary is now unsure for which version of Trump they voted. People's upward gazes, no matter their political views, seek answers: How could this happen? Or now that it has, what will it mean?