During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump went to great lengths to fire up his hardcore MAGA base. But he also made a concerted effort to attract a wider range of voters, reaching out to everyone from tech bros and the Manosphere to Latinos. In 2016, Trump attacked former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush — a fluent Spanish speaker — for speaking Spanish on the campaign trail; in 2024, the Trump campaign ran countless ads in Spanish-language media.
Six months into Trump’s second presidency, The New York Times conducted a late July focus group and talked to 11 Latinos who voted for him in 2024. And the voters expressed a variety of views. Some praised Trump, while others had strong reservations about his economic and immigration policies.
Estéban, a 22-year-old Republican from Texas told the Times, “My biggest concern is the cost of just basic needs. In the time that I’ve started working, going to school, I’ve seen the prices of everything jump up. I voted for Donald Trump initially because he promised to help the working class, but from what I’ve been seeing, I don’t think we’re anywhere close to seeing any benefit from the policies.”
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Inflation was a recurring concern during the focus group.
José, a 45-year-old Republican from Indiana, told the Times, “Everything is very uncertain right now. The tariffs, they might work. I’m not saying they won’t. But if you look at the cost of everything right now, basic things, can you guys imagine what it’s going to be like in 10 years? National debt, what is it going to be like in 10 years? What are we actually doing for our kids to give them a better future?”
José said of Trump’s immigration policy, “What’s going on right now, it’s very aggressive. When he ran, the main concern was the bad guys. Now, all I’m hearing about is people getting dragged out of work areas, construction sites. I don’t really think that that’s where the bad guys are at. These are people that are working, helping the economy. If anybody has gone through any immigration process, they’ll understand that it’s not an easy process to go through.”
Adrianna, a 53-year-old Republican in New York State, said of the U.S. economy, “It’s not going good. Prices are going up. Nobody’s paychecks are really going up. Things that once seemed pretty affordable now seem almost unattainable. A decent vacation costs a great deal. But I believe, in time, it will balance itself out. Right now, we’re just on a little shaky ground financially.”
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Some of the participants, however, passionately defended Trump.
Joe, a 69-year-old Republican who lives in Colorado, told the Times, “We have a good president. If Congress will just get behind him and back him up, I think there’s a lot of good he could do for us.”
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Read the full New York Times article at this link (subscription required).