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Nick wants to know how Billy’s trip in was. Billy says it was fine but doesn’t say where he flew in from and Nick doesn’t ask. Nick says how about that fuckin Trump and Billy says how about him. That’s about all they’ve got, but it’s okay because by then Macintosh is back with two tall glasses on a tray, and once he leaves, Nick gets down to business.
- A generic snide comment about Trump from one character, with a non-committal response from the protagonist. There's literally no follow-up.
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‘That building across the street is mine,’ Hoff says. ‘Only twenty-two stories, but good enough to make it the second highest in Red Bluff. It’ll be the third highest when the Higgins Center goes up. That’s gonna be thirty stories high. With a mall. I’ve got a piece of that one, too, but this one? Strictly my baby. They laughed at Trump when he said he was gonna fix the economy, but it’s working. It’s working.’ Billy has no interest in Trump or Trump’s economy, but he studies the building with professional interest.
- three references: a pro-Trump statement from a supporting character, with no interest from the main character. "Hoff" is cast as a somewhat negative character, but not because of his politics - he is an inexperienced participant adding risk to a dangerous endeavour involving more experienced characters. But he is not depicted as being stupid nor nefarious; he's just a "civilian" in a professional enterprise.
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And he doesn’t like what Hoff is doing in this. Aside from Hoff being too out front after the deal goes down, there’s something Nick’s not telling him. Maybe that doesn’t matter. Maybe it does. As Trump says at least once a day, Who knows?
- Could be interpreted as snide, but it's pretty weak. This one did stand out to me as gratuitous, I concede.
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Before bed, he unboxes his AllTech laptop, powers it up, and googles Ken Hoff. He’s quite the mover and shaker in Red Bluff. He’s an Elk. He’s in Rotary. He was president of the local Jaycees chapter. Chairman of the local Republican Party during the 2016 election cycle, and there’s a picture of pre-beard scruff Ken wearing a red MAGA hat. He was on the city planning board but stepped down in 2018 after accusations of conflict of interest. He owns half a dozen downtown buildings, including the Gerard Tower, which Billy supposes makes him a kind of Donald Trump Mini-Me. He owns three TV stations, one here in Red Bluff and two in Alabama.
- Reference to the same character, mostly just adding a bit of color to a flatly descriptive paragraph.
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He is stunned to discover that Paul and Denise Ragland voted for Hillary Clinton and can’t stand Trump, who they call ‘President Crybaby.’ Proving once more, Billy supposes as he walks home, that you can’t judge a man by his wifebeater.
- Okay, this one I can see as snarky. I'm not sure it's aimed at Trump supporters or Trump directly, but it's definitely a swipe in that direction. But there's no follow-up. The next Trump reference is 100 pages further in the book.