Balls Deep (2016–…): Season 2, Episode 2 - Trump Campaigners - full transcript

Ralph:
So we're gonna take one,

two, three, eight of them.

Thomas. Thomas, you want to

carry a couple too?
- Yeah.

Unfortunately, when I'm done,
before the night's over with,

I'll have to pull them
- Yeah.

Because otherwise,
they'll end up missing.

- Come on, tough guy.
- Like that?

Yeah. We'll put this
in the road just like that.

Hey, I think that's their yard,
Thomas. I don't know

if I should put one there.
- Oh, oh, okay.



Um, actually, you know what?

Go ahead. Just put it
real close to my driveway.

Real close? Okay. Okay.

Encroaching on
the neighbor's turf.

**

The phrase "grass roots"
has been applied to numerous

presidential campaigns
over the last 30 years

and is in large part bull shit.

There's nothing more top-down
than a presidential campaign.

One central office gives
marching orders

to the regional offices,

and they carry it out
on the street.

This election cycle, though,
has seen at least one

truly grass-roots campaign.



That is the run of
Mr. Donald Trump,

who has an official campaign
and staff, albeit a small one,

but whose popularity and success

has rested largely
on the efforts

of his volunteers
across the country.

One of these Trump aficionados
is Ralph Case of Ohio,

who took it on his own
initiative to set up

a campaign office for him in
the lead-up to Ohio's primaries,

won at least his portion
of the state for the Donald

and is now off to do it again
in West Virginia,

I think, out of his own pocket

which is laudable...

maybe.

[ Hammer pounding ]

[ Drill whirring ]

Stark County, Ohio,
is right in the middle

of Akron and Canton.

Very plain Ohio towns out here.

It's a typical
suburban territory.

It's about
as average America as you get.

And Ralph, I think,

pretty much constitutes
your average American.

Phew, this is just
some of the stuff I do.

I do it all, though,
anything from the ground up.

I mean, I have a network
of people if I need them.

Um, but I like to keep
the money myself

because I raise
two kids on my own,

a 12-year-old and a
4-year-old, you know. Right.

Ralph, in addition to, uh,
heading up the volunteer efforts

for Trump down here in, uh,
Ohio, is, uh, also runs

his own business
and is a father of two --

a single father of two.

My kids need me, I'm gone, man.

- Yeah.
- My kids come first

over anything.

You know, with all this crazy
stuff going on

in schools nowaday,
I fear for my kids'

going to school sometimes.

You know what I mean? 'Cause you
don't know what's gonna happen.

That's true.
And if he's got to barrel

into a closet
or underneath a desk,

he can call me.
That's good.

Yeah. And dad can
get armed up and go.

You know what I mean?
And it could save the day.

You know what I mean?

Just a plain local school.

- Yes, sir.
- Plain local school.

How's Gavin doing today?

Yeah.

Did you do
something positive today?

Hmm, did you do
something positive today?

Yeah.
What'd you do?

Awesome.

Phew, this thing is big.

Ralph is campaigning with gusto,

which, uh, you kind of expect
of a seasoned veteran.

But, um, this is
his first real go-round.

It's his first
real interest at all

in our presidential politics

or, I think, politics
of any kind.

I got this, Daddy.
Let go.

You got that?
You got to push.

You got to push
at the same time, okay?

You can do it.
You -- you're started it.

Go ahead. Finish it.

- Yeah.
- Here, I'll help you.

- You almost got it.
- You -- you push the button.

Okay.

Thomas: It's a lot to juggle.

He's, uh, giving it
his all for the, uh, man

who would be king or president.

Trump is our last hope.

He's -- he's the last hope
for this country,

last hope for our kids' future.

I feel very strongly about that.

I went to go see him
at the Cleveland I-X Center.

- How was it?
- It was great.

It was amazing.

It was better than
a rock concert, man.

- Huh.
- It was definitely amazing.

I'd go again
and again and again.

Yeah. I hear you.
Listen to this, man.

Okay. $11 billion to $22 billion
is spent on welfare

to illegal immigrations
each year

by the state government

on primary and secondary
school education

for children here illegally.

And they cannot speak
a word of English.

$200 billion dollars a year
suppress American wages

and caused
by illegal immigration,

meaning they're taking our jobs.

Right, right, right.

And this administration
doesn't see that?

No. He wants to bring more.

And if we had that great wall
with that wonderful door,

it wouldn't be as easy
to come back in.

Anyhow...

[ Both laugh ]

Ralph's involvement with
the campaign apparently started,

like, the day Trump declared his
candidacy over a year ago.

Yeah. The minute he
come down on the escalator.

I watched his chest.

And then he come down with
his wife, down the escalator.

And he said he was running

for the president
of the United States.

The next day, I was on the phone
to New York, leaving messages.

I sent e-mails.

And I was sending e-mails,
like, every day, like,

"I want to be involved.
I want to help."

Uh, they did not call him
back about that.

But he took, uh,
took the initiative

and, uh, rented out
an old tanning salon

and set up a Stark County, Ohio,
campaign office.

His portion of Ohio,

uh, Trump swept
for the primaries.

And now the campaign office
has asked him

to go to
Wheeling, West Virginia,

and set up a Trump HQ.

Supposed to give you this
donation for the West Virginia,

uh...

Oh. Oh, okay.
All right. Yeah.

There's one, two, three, four.

Okay.

We really appreciate it, buddy.

Hey, thanks for
all your support.

Wow. Gavin, why don't
you go show them

what you do
for a hobby real quick

while I get my medicine?

- Okay.
- It's downstairs.

- Don't mind the mess, but...
- That's fine.

Basements aren't
supposed to be, uh,

the cleanest part of the house.

Whoa.

[ Chuckles ]

How long did this take you?

A year or two.
That's amazing.

Did your dad make
the, uh, table for you?

Yeah.
Is it ready?

I want to play.
Away we go.

I thought, "I'm gonna
build the Trump Tower."

He's -- he's gonna build
an empire like Mr. Trump.

Thomas: Are there a lot of,
like, Trump kids in your class?

- A lot of people like him?
- No.

No?

Um, I got told I was racist
for liking Trump.

By who?
A bunch of kids.

Mm.
They keep saying,

"Donald Trump's doing
nothing for this country.

He's just driving it
to the ground."

Where are they
getting that from?

Their parents.
I never did this before.

There.

Done.

You did good.

Good enough.

Oh.

Clean and ready
to start cooking whenever.

- All right.
- What time is it?

Uh, 4:20.

What a number.

Yeah. [ Chuckles ]

All right. We're coming in
for a few minutes, okay?

You guys want
something to drink?

Weed number.

Dad, who's gonna win?

Trump.

[ Laughter ]

You don't know what's coming.

I'm not sure.
The blue one.

Let's see.

So the red's Republican,
isn't it?

Some prognostication.

- Whoa!
- See?

Democrat's off the beaten trail.

- Yeah!
- Bonus.

No way. I need
to start chopping.

You want to chop some onions?
I need to chop.

- Sure.
- Don't cry.

We need to...

- Oh, man, Thomas.
- Mm-hmm.

You ever chopped up
an onion before?

- Yeah.
- Okay.

- Just...
- Is it okay?

- Just trying to...
- Get through it?

You need a different knife?

Maybe a different knife, yeah.

I'm gonna try this thing.

Ralph's hosting
a little get-together

at his place for, uh, all
the neighborhood Trumpies.

What strikes me about
a lot of the volunteers

down here for Trump
is nobody really seems to come

from a standard
Republican background.

Uh, honestly, most of them
don't even seem to have been

involved in politics
before this election.

Trump's the one who, you know,

kind of caught their attention
and galvanized them,

including Ralph,
uh, who just voted

what his father voted
in previous

presidential elections.

Dad, that's Thomas. Thomas,
this is my father, Ralph, Sr.

- Nice to meet you. Thomas.
- Nice to meet you.

They're almost what we used to
talk about as Reagan democrats.

They're, you know,
working-class people,

who might otherwise
be drawn towards,

uh, left-wing policies
like single payer healthcare,

a redistributive tax model,

but who like Trump because he's,
you know, a tough dude,

'cause he is, uh, throws his
weight out there,

says what he's thinking, speaks
his mind for better and worse,

makes fun of people on Twitter,
you know?

He's the fun candidate.

Trump! Trump! Trump!
Vote, vote Trump!

Vote for Trump!
Make America great again!

Vote for Trump!

Is the lipstick for Trump, too,
or does that predate...

Well, hey. No.
It's -- it's Trump's lips.

Oh.
I mean, he's a man

that's saying what he means
and means what he says.

And so you can't talk.

It's very difficult
to talk without lips.

That is true.

**

[ Grieg's "Morning Mood" plays ]

Morning. Um, today Ralph is
going to set up the office,

uh, in Wheeling, West Virginia,
for the Trump campaign.

Wheeling is sort of...

It's about an hour and a half
from here

and is kind of as far north
in West Virginia as you can get.

It's in the panhandle.

Oh.

Boy. Hey.

Morning, Gavin.

Keys. Keys.
Check. Check.

Emergency phone.

- Ready.
- Yeah.

All right.

But I'm not quite sure what
the relationship is between

the volunteer campaign staff
and the official one.

But based on the hushed tones
Ralph has used,

it's, uh, potentially combative
or maybe just, like, kind of,

I don't know, a little weird.

So we'll see.

Sorry.
It's early.

But on to West Virginia.

We've got to pick up
Craig too, who, um,

I think was a roadie
for Lynyrd Skynyrd and...

Oh.

[ Car horn beeping ]

Taxi's here.

Hey, Craig.
How we doing, buddy?

You got a bag
you're taking or something?

Craig: I've been
calling Sweden a lot.

And I -- I've called them,
like, 25 times.

I call a random Swede, you know?

I would have the most pleasant
conversations with people.

And I'd go, "You know,
I'm a Donald Trump supporter.

"What's wrong with you?

I hate your freaking guts."

Click!

You call Sweden,
and everybody hates Trump.

And I'm going...
"Why?"

"...Where do you get this?"

- Fear state.
- I don't even follow politics.

I'm not a political person.

I just see this country's
being destroyed,

and I'm just freaked.

[ Laughs ]

Yeah, there's something
seriously wrong.

Oh, it's crazy.

And I think Trump's
the only one that can fix it.

I do, too.
I really do.

Yeah, so...
I don't see any other hope.

Let's go on for Trump,
West Virginia.

**

Oh.
It's Saturday, though.

What's Dark View, by the way?

Dark View is a haunted house
that I volunteer at.

My character is called El Sid.

Cool. That sounds
really good.

Oh, it's a blast.
I love scaring people.

I'm a registered Republican.

But I can tell you
that if the, uh,

if the Republican hierarchy

hijacks the nomination
from Donald Trump,

one of two things
is gonna happen.

Either "A," they just

handed the White House
to the democrats...

They already did it.
They don't have to do that.

...Or -- or "B," Mr. Trump's
gonna be our first, uh,

independent president
in -- in modern history.

I'll write him in.
I don't have any...

I know how to spell his name.

- All right.
- That's really exciting though,

kind of like, uh, breaking, uh,
the political establishment.

- Remember...
- They're afraid.

...the Titanic was built
by professionals.

The ark was built by amateurs.

Trump is a true politician
because he is a true American

wanting to go by
what our constitution says.

And by that way,

he's the only true
politician running.

Well, and -- and -- and he...

Thomas: Versus, like,
a professional politician.

- Right.
- Well, yeah.

The money men.

I forgot you had
people with you.

Yes, sir.
We got more coming.

[ Indistinct talking ]

We're in an old
Georgian or Victorian.

I don't know what the hours are.

But we're gonna have
to come up with hours

and redo this unless you guys
are able to do the 99.

I know there wasn't
the sticky thing on it.

But we need to start
making some signs.

Thomas, you want to help
make some signs?

Those are 200 bags
and then 100 in the sticks.

So let's just open
one of these boxes.

Gavin, you want to help me
get started on setting these up?

That's my son, Gavin,
by the way, guys.

Gavin, this is everybody.

Me. Ralph.

- Ralph. How are you?
- Good. Good.

Nice to meet you.
- Good. Thank you so much.

I've got some cookies and some
water for you guys.

Awesome.
Thank you so much.

Okay.

Oh, that's fine if you do that.

And -- and no problem if --
if we...

We'll do whatever
it takes, you know.

It's gonna be cut short, Thomas.

They're -- they're leaving.
Good. Very good.

They're coming out.
That's not the issue.

Is there anything else?
No.

Okay. All right.
This has taken us by surprise, Ralph.

We'll obey the rules.
Okay? It's fine.

We all shouldn't be
taken by surprise.

I mean, I understand
that you're a volunteer effort.

But you're working
for an organization.

And it's...
I'm not working for anybody.

You're volunteering.
Correct.

Okay. Well, then
we'll have to reassess

how your volunteer efforts go.

Well, that's fine.
I mean, I could pack up

and leave right now, Beth...

No. We're not asking you to.
'Cause I'm ready to.

Thomas: Are there people
we can talk to, though?

We want to do this all, like,
we're not trying to do this

not on the level.

We thought by working with Ralph
that we were gonna be okay.

You'll have to -- you'll have
to contact Hope Hicks.

- Oh, okay.
- Hope Hicks.

- In, uh...
- She's our media director.

- Yeah. Okay.
- Hope Hicks is your media director?

- The campaign media director.
- That's right.

And you're a volunteer.
She's not your media director.

I said, uh...
Yeah, is the media director.

- Got it.
- We have to -- we have

to refer them to Hope Hicks.

- Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. -Okay.
That's who we should talk to.

- Okay.
- Exactly.

When it comes to campaign stuff.

So I will wait
till these folks go.

And I appreciate your help.

I should have left when
I wanted to leave on my terms.

You know what I mean?

But I just want to
get out of here.

So we'll just hit 70,

and we'll find somewhere
off the highway to Canton.

Okay.

**

Thomas: So things did not go
as planned in West Virginia.

Um, we've kind of driven
back to Canton.

I think Ralph claims he sent in
a, uh, resignation letter,

I think, via text.

I don't know
how permanent it is.

He's on the phone
with somebody right now.

I don't know if they're from
the campaign or from where.

I -- I don't know
what was said about me,

you know, from her.

I'm sure it was pretty negative.
You know what I mean?

I would really hate
to see something being

negative put on the campaign.

You know what I mean?

Who was that?
Was that, uh...

Was that somebody
from the campaign or...?

Was that guy -- I'm confused
by who that guy was. Sorry.

Was he a campaign guy or...?

Yeah, this isn't gonna
diminish your effort

done here, is it, or out here?

Oh, I'm -- I'm not
doing it up here. I'm done.

If this is what
it's gonna create for me,

it's not worth it to me.

I'll go do my vote,
and that's it and small talk.

You know what I mean?

Yeah. I'm for Trump.
Yeah. I'm for Trump.

Of course I'm for Trump.
You know what I mean?

And I'll cast my vote, you know.

And I know if Mr. Trump
knew what I was doing,

he would be greatly
appreciating what I was doing.

I hope. Yeah.
Absolutely.

So all right, buddy.
Take care.

It's good seeing you.
We'll be in touch, man.

Okay.
For sure.

Yeah. You want
to take the cake?

Just unloading those boxes,
Gavin. They can come in.

Here, it goes in the fridge?

Yeah. Just for
a few minutes.

And, here, take
a couple of these.

Why not just use some of these
while we're here.

Anything else?
Nope.

I don't feel right, Thomas.

Mm-hmm.
You know what I mean?

I don't feel right, you know?

It's, like, ass-backwards.
[ Scoffs ]

It's sad 'cause this doesn't
hurt anybody but Trump.

I feel really bad, you know.

Thomas: Me too.

But it is what it is.

And we'll have to roll with it
and see what happens, you know?

Even a little warm,
it's still pretty good.

You did fine work on this cake.

[ Laughter ]

Nice, Gavin.

Oh.

- Trump!
- And that's true sacrifice.

You know what, communist?

Trump!
- I got a question.

Go move to Canada.

Go move where you got
no freedom of speech, commie.

I'll go move to --

**

You're gonna burn in hell

for burning the American flag,

you socialist homo huggers.

Move back!

[ Crowd chanting ]

[ Indistinct shouting ]

[ Shouting indistinctly ]

So despite what happened
in West Virginia,

um, Ralph has stuck
with the campaign.

He's not part
of the actual campaign.

Of course, he never was.
He was a volunteer.

But hasn't been doing too much
since, uh, the whole thing.

But he has come
to the convention,

still supports Trump,
still is jazzed about it.

This is the protest area, Gavin.

This is probably everybody
that's...

All right.
Here we are in Cleveland.

...Trump making
America hate.

This is probably
where all the things

will be popping off.

Stay close to me, Gavin.
- I'm close to you.

We're buying a beach ball.

I want to give them
to everybody.

[ Laughs ]
- That's a good idea.

- Give me part of it.
- Thomas, we got to blow

some of these up, buddy.
All right.

"Crooked Hillary"
and "Trump 2016."

There it is.

Anytime, buddy.

Ralph, what are you
gonna be doing after this?

Are you gonna try to hook
back up with the campaign again?

Uh, I -- I -- I don't know
what's gonna happen.

For right now,

I'm gonna get these balls
flying in the air.

Sorry.

Sorry.
It was an accident.

It was an accident.
I was trying to regain my ball.

- Okay.
- But you took it from me.

This is exactly what
I did not want you to do.

You don't listen to me.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.
It was an accident.

- That's all right.
- I apologized.

[ Groans ]

Thomas: Let's get
the lay of the land.

All right. I'm gonna
walk down this way.

All right.
Kind of just venture around.

What are you gonna do
for the, uh, election itself?

Are you gonna
get back with the campaign?

No. We're gonna do something --

I'm gonna do something
on our own.

- Where'd you get the beach ball?
- You can have it.

- Whoo! Thank you!
- Go Trump!

- Whoo!
- [ Laughs ]

Grass roots is where it is.

But I don't think
I'll be on the campaign.

I -- I -- I can spread
the word faster

on my own than working
with the campaign.

Yeah.
I learned that doing --

during the primary.

What do you think?
Pretty crazy, huh?

It's not as bad
as I thought it would be.

**

It is time to show
the whole world

that America is back.

Morton: Ralph actually perfectly
fits the profile

of what Eric Hoffer
back in the 1950s

described as the true believer.

He's fused his identity
with Trump's mass movement

as a means not just to redeem
America from its, you know,

assorted social vices
and defects and flaws,

but those in his own life.

[ Crowd chanting "USA! USA!" ]

Some of the specific goals
he states and facts

may strike an outsider as, you
know, off base or contradictory

or even just wrong.

They're not the point, really.

Proselytizing for Trump's
given him a sense of purpose

and meaning that no one
in his community,

in the country, and the media
has ever offered.

That's a lot harder
to argue against

than some nonsense on Twitter,
so here we go.

Trump.

**