Donald Trump is considered the epitome of the old white man, a racist and xenophobe. Nevertheless, it is increasingly popular, especially among America’s minorities – despite all the accusations. Why?
Luis Rivera is tired of being pigeonholed. He is an American, the son of immigrants from Puerto Rico, and yet he always ends up in this one category: Latino, Hispanic – of Hispanic descent.
“There are all kinds of people in this category: Mexicans, Colombians, Dominicans, Brazilians,” he says. “And yet people always generalize: Aha, Latino, an immigrant. Aha, a worker. Aha, a Democrat. Aha, anti-Trump. But I’m not a Democrat. I’m not a worker. I don’t see myself as a Latino either. And I’m for Trump.”
“Aren’t Latinos and blacks allowed to vote for Trump?”
Rivera sits on the beach of Lake Erie in northwest Ohio in shorts and a polo shirt and prepares a barbecue. It’s Sunday, a sultry summer morning, the beach is full, the breeze is gentle, the lake seems as big as an ocean. He thinks it’s an ideal day for a family picnic with his wife and three children. At this time, many other Latinos, seasonal workers from Guatemala, immigrants from Venezuela, and long-established citizens of Mexican origin are already sitting around him. Not a single person describes themselves as a leftist.