Meet the Trump voters who aren't white and male
| SAN DIEGO
Donald Trump鈥檚 manner does not always sit well with Steve and Mona Botello.
The couple, who identify as Latino, say the presumptive Republican nominee鈥檚 method can be brash and unpalatable. Yet his message resonates with them both 鈥� so much so that on the Friday before Memorial Day, they drove two hours from their home in San Bernardino, Calif., to see Mr. Trump speak at the San Diego Convention Center.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 agree with how he says a lot of things,鈥� says Mrs. Botello, an X-ray technician currently in graduate school. 鈥淚 don鈥檛. But I do agree on the things he stands for.鈥�
Trump supporters are often characterized as white, and male, and lacking in college diplomas 鈥� and it鈥檚 true that demographic has been a mainstay of the business mogul鈥檚 electoral success. But the crowd at this San Diego event is testament that his appeal isn鈥檛 limited to one race, gender, or education and income range.
Indeed, the Botellos demonstrate that Trump also connects with a small but vocal contingent of frustrated minorities who say that he is the best hope for the nation鈥檚 future. They dismiss the notion that he is racist and misogynistic, and resent that they are voting for him because they don鈥檛 know any better.
Instead, they see in Trump鈥檚 rhetoric a man who loves his country so much he is willing to defend it at all costs, promising for example to build a wall at the American border with Mexico, to challenge China鈥檚 economic power, and to bring jobs back into the United States. To these voters, that kind of thinking is exactly what America needs right now.
鈥淭rump鈥檚 not the most buttoned-up candidate, but he cares,鈥� says Mr. Botello, who works for a marketing company. 鈥淲e care. I used to think I was so lucky to live in this country. We just want to bring that back.鈥�
America first
Of course, Trump鈥檚 candidacy for president also inspires lots of criticism. At the San Diego event, protesters carried signs calling Trump a bigot and a racist, and found themselves exchanging volleys of trash and plastic bottles with Trump supporters after the rally, until police dispersed the crowd of nearly 1,000.
Such protests cut to the heart of what may be Trump鈥檚 most controversial position: to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US, to temporarily ban foreign Muslims from coming into the country, and to keep out Syrian refugees.
His supporters, however, say he is only laying out what needs to be done to secure America鈥檚 borders and help the country regain its prominence as a world superpower 鈥� a status they say the nation is rapidly losing, if it鈥檚 not already lost.
鈥淗e puts Americans first,鈥� says Lupin Chen, an engineer who immigrated to the US from China in 2004 and is now part of the group, 鈥淐hinese-Americans for Donald Trump.鈥� 鈥淗e wants to secure the border 鈥� and understands that [we] are here to pursue our American dream.鈥�
鈥淗e recognizes the difference between illegal and legal immigrants. Others try to blur the lines between the two groups,鈥� adds Jennifer Hu, an investor who moved the US, also from China, 29 years ago.
鈥淗e鈥檚 going to put American cities first,鈥� she continues, echoing Mr. Chen. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I vote for him.鈥�
Amal Oraiqal, a Muslim immigrant from Jordan, says she respects Trump for his commitment to his country.
鈥淚 like him because he鈥檚 real and he speaks his mind. He cares about his own people,鈥� she says.
She acknowledges that he has said things about Muslims that could be construed as derogatory. But 鈥渢here鈥檚 a lot of people that make Islam bad, and that鈥檚 what he sees,鈥� Ms. Oraiqal says.
鈥淲e have so many rights here that I would not get if I was in my country,鈥� and Trump wants to protect those rights, she adds. All he asks is that immigrants obey the law when they come to the US 鈥� like she herself did 27 years ago, Oraiqal says.
'We鈥檙e not racist'
Waiting for their turn to enter the convention center, Nestor Moto, Jr., and Mark Rizk make an unlikely pair. Mr. Moto, in his aviator sunglasses and stars-and-stripes shorts, provides a flashy foil to Mr. Rizk, who comes dressed in a conservative button-down and slacks.
Yet both identify as solid Republicans who support Trump, and together they pose for photographers who step up to take pictures of their handmade signs: 鈥淕ays for Trump鈥� for Moto, and 鈥淎rab 海角大神s for Trump鈥� for Rizk.
Both men also say they鈥檇 appreciate a little empathy from Trump naysayers.
鈥淲e want to make sure that people understand we鈥檙e not racist, not violent,鈥� says Moto, a recent political science graduate at Long Beach State University. 鈥淲e have diversity among us.鈥�
鈥淲e love America,鈥� adds Rizk, a son of Egyptian immigrants. 鈥淲e are sincere. Eight years of what鈥檚 been happening 鈥� we need a new direction for the country. Trump is going to be good [for the US].鈥�
Others at the rally echo the sentiment, bemoaning what they say is the mainstream media鈥檚 vilification of both Trump and his supporters.
鈥淚 ask that they listen to what he鈥檚 saying in context, and that they don鈥檛 pre-judge people based on their support for a candidate,鈥� says Diego Velazquez, a student in political science and business at Whittier College, just east of Los Angeles. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 not fair. Everyone鈥檚 entitled to their opinion.鈥�
Humbert Cabrera, a businessman from nearby El Cajon who identifies as a Mayan Indian from Mexico鈥檚 Yucat谩n state, has a more pointed perspective.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clich茅d and trite,鈥� he says of critics who say Trump and his supporters are racist and anti-women. 鈥淐riticism and name-calling is done by people who know they are getting close to getting their power taken away. That鈥檚 how Washington feels.鈥�
'The outsider game'
The narrative of an outsider candidate who is willing to say what needs to be said and put America first is a powerful one, analysts say. The message has resonated most with white Americans who have felt disenfranchised in the wake of the Great Recession 鈥� but others have latched on to it, too.
Trump is 鈥減laying the outsider game at a time when everyone, both Democrat and Republican, is unhappy with government and unhappy with elected officials,鈥� says Jan Leighley, a professor who specializes in American political behavior at American University in Washington. 鈥淗e plays that card.鈥�
Yet she says what draws some minority voters to Trump is less his message than the fact that they have likely leaned Republican for a long time.
鈥淪ystematic research puts party identification in the middle of everything,鈥� Professor Leighley says. It鈥檚 not specific characteristics or features of the candidate, but the party with which a voter is affiliated that determines who people vote for, she says.
Indeed, from the Chinese Americans to other women and voters of color who spoke to the Monitor here, almost all say they identify as Republican.
鈥淓ven if a person just says they lean Republican,鈥� Leighley says, 鈥渢he chances of them voting Democrat is very small.鈥�
That doesn鈥檛 mean American voters, including Trump fans, equate their political leanings with closed-mindedness.
Leticia Sullivan says intelligent, independent thinking has led her to support Trump.
鈥淚 think the most derogatory thing people have called us is low-information,鈥� she says, waving around two posters proclaiming, 鈥淟atinos for Trump鈥� and 鈥淲omen for Trump.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e not low-information,鈥� insists Mrs. Sullivan, a former social services worker and a granddaughter of immigrants from the Philippines and Spain. 鈥淲e just want to make America the first again.鈥�
Ms. Hu, the investor, agrees. 鈥淭his is the second rally I鈥檓 going to, and I鈥檝e met many other Trump supporters,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey are all very independent thinkers.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 Hispanic,鈥� and a former voter for Bill Clinton, adds Mr. Botello, the marketing man from San Bernardino. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 fit the 鈥榤odel鈥� of a Trump supporter.鈥� But his vote counts as much as anyone else鈥檚, he says.
鈥淲e love this country. [Trump] is going to surround himself with good people,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be better off [with him].鈥�
