Dozens of trucks, motorcycles and cars decorated with huge Trump flags are lining up in a parking lot on the outskirts of Tucson, the second largest city in Arizona. The big motorcade for Donald Trump is about to start. Jorge, in his late 50s, organized it and immigrated from El Salvador over 30 years ago.
He is standing in the parking lot wearing a Trump T-shirt and a cap with a mock Trump hairstyle on his head. “Latinos for Trump” – that is his mission. “The Democrats have let the Latino community down,” says Jorge. His wife Betty, with a glittering Trump handbag in her hand, beams: “The Latinos are voting for Trump, wonderful.”
What is important to Latinos no longer counts for Democrats, explains Jorge. Latinos believed in family, hard work, law and order. The Democrats cared about “woke culture”, minority stuff. Trump, on the other hand, would ensure that the high cost of living fell and he would end illegal immigration. The Democrats allowed rapists and murderers into the country, said Jorge.
Bertha, whose ancestors immigrated to the USA from Mexico, also came to the parade. “We are not against immigration,” explains the woman in her early 60s. But Latinos who came to the country legally felt cheated. Bertha is also convinced that support for Trump among Latinos in Arizona is greater than ever.
Swing state on the southern border
In the hotly contested swing state of Arizona, the only swing state with a border with Mexico, 25 percent of eligible voters are Latinos. They could therefore make a decisive contribution to the outcome of the election in the state. In 2020, Joe Biden won by less than 11,000 votes over Donald Trump. And the polls show that Latino support for the Democrats is declining.
The same is true in Nogales, 130 kilometers away. The border with Mexico runs right through the town of 20,000 inhabitants. Litzyeen, Roxy and Anakarina are sitting in a Mexican restaurant. The three Latinas are campaign workers for the Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, knocking on doors and calling potential voters in the Latino community. And all three say they feel the dwindling support for the Democrats.
“The Latinos for Trump are keeping me awake at night,” says 37-year-old Anakarina with long black hair. She cannot understand the Latino support for Trump. Trump is deceiving the Latinos, namely that he will do something for them, that he will stimulate the economy by lowering taxes. But Trump will only lower taxes for the rich, many Latinos simply don’t see that, Anakarina shakes her head in frustration.
Concerns among the Democrats
The women are convinced that Trump will not solve the problem of illegal immigration either. They want a humane immigration policy. In Trump they only see someone who doesn’t care about people, says Roxy. Trump doesn’t want solutions to problems, only hatred and division. That’s why the country needs Harris. She is able to overcome the deep division between the political camps, says Anakarina. And only that will move the USA forward.
Will it be enough to win the election in the end? None of the three Latinos is sure. It will be incredibly close, says Anakarina. Litzyeen openly admits that she is worried. Trump fan Jorge in Tucson is different: He is convinced that Trump will win with the help of the Latinos. The Latino community will celebrate on November 5th – with tequila, of course.
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