The stool scraped across the barroom floor and an ironworker sat down amid LA Woman jukebox strains.

This was last night.

Central Jersey.

InsiderNJ wanted a sense of the Governor Phil Murphy v. Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) rivalry on area Building Trades work sites, since the source on the telephone had mentioned a conversation on one detail wherein a fellow ironworker wanted to know why Sweeney didn’t like the governor.

It turned out there wasn’t much to it, he said.

There was no deep impact reflection on Murphy v. Sweeney.

No one really cares, the ironworker noted.

But he did add this, unequivocally, “Man, to the extent that anyone’s talking politics on the work site, no joke, it’s nearly all pro-Trump.”

He seemed disheartened.

Why?

“People just seem ignorant, man,” he said. “Workers think because Trump put up buildings with union workers that he’s pro union. It’s very frustrating, but what are you going to do? That’s what they think. If I had to pin the attitude on one thing I do think it’s white guys, feeling threatened, holding onto the white guy thing.”

A woman hauled herself onto an adjoining stool.

She wanted to talk.

Ex-husband on a trip out of town with the kids.

“I love Tucker Carlson,” she announced.

Like it was the perfect icebreaker.

The ironworker’s shoulders sagged as he looked up and tried to find solace in the approaching barkeep.