Trump has been called racist – so why are growing numbers of black and Latino voters now backing him?

There is a certain predictability in Donald Trump’s rallies. A sea of ​​red “Make America Great Again” hats, countless stars and stripes flags and an enthusiastic crowd of mostly white, working-class fans that form his loyal base.

But in recent months there has been a noticeable shift in people coming to cheer on the former president as he campaigns from North Carolina to Nevada and from Arizona to Arkansas in his bid to return to the White House in November’s presidential election.

Increasingly, supporters wearing “Blacks For Trump” T-shirts and waving “Latinos For Trump” placards are standing alongside his traditional supporters — and their numbers are growing every week.

People attend a rally for Vice President Mike Pence as he speaks during the Donald J. Trump for President Latino Coalition Rollout at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Miami Airport & Convention Center

Recent polls have shown that working-class minorities, who historically vote for the Democratic Party led by President Joe Biden, are turning their backs on him in droves. An AP-NORC poll found that only 50 percent of Black adults said they approved of Biden, down from 86 percent in July 2021. At the same time, 25 percent of Black adults said they approved of Trump, down from 18 percent. cents in 2021.

Craig Scott, 54, a black filmmaker and Trump supporter from North Carolina, is not the least bit surprised. “When it comes down to it, people vote with their wallets and no one can argue that life in America today is better under Biden than under Trump. A trip to the grocery store or gas station hits people where it hurts. Biden is old and out of touch. Ask most people if they were better off under Trump and the answer is ‘yes.’

Ironically, the fact that he has faced multiple lawsuits on everything from election fraud to tax evasion – which Trump describes as “a political witch hunt” – has earned him sympathy from minority voters.

Scott, who joined a black militant group as a teenager in the 1980s and was jailed for 26 years for running a white-owned bank and depositing the money he stole into a black-owned bank, said: “Black communities are used to it continued. When Trump showed his mugshot, many of us felt sympathy for him.

“His run-ins with the law and what appears to be an unfair obsession with putting him behind bars is a reminder of what has been done to us in the past.”

Blacks For Trump supporters stand outside Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump’s club in South Florida, to show their support for him

Former President Donald J. Trump kisses the American flag as he arrives on stage during CPAC Conference 2024 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington DC

For Latinos, mainly Mexican immigrants and people from Central and South America, the decision to support Trump is more personal. According to official figures from US Customs and Border Protection, it is a response to Biden’s disastrous “open border” policy, which has seen 7.3 million migrants illegally cross the US southern border since he took office.

There are 36.2 million eligible Hispanic voters in 2024, up from 32.3 million in the 2020 election. Latinos now make up nearly 15 percent of the U.S. electorate and will likely hold the key to who wins in November, especially in battleground states like Arizona and Nevada, which Biden narrowly won in 2020.

In January, a USA Today/Suffolk University poll showed Trump with a 39 percent lead among Latino voters, compared to Biden’s 24 percent — a massive slump since the 2020 election, when Bidden had 65 percent of Latino received votes.

Texas dentist Alma Arrendondo-Lynch, 67, took part in a ‘Take Our Border Back’ rally: “I’m not against people coming to America, but they should do it legally,” she said.

Another woman who arrived in Los Angeles from El Salvador 20 years ago and who preferred not to give her name said, “It took me years and thousands of dollars to get a green card and U.S. citizenship. It is wrong that Biden is allowing millions of illegal immigrants to flow in. Why should they be given work visas and allowed to stay if they haven’t followed the same rules as the rest of us?

A supporter of Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump raises a sign during a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina

Governor Mark Robinson and his wife Yolanda listen as Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, speaks at a campaign rally

“It is our communities that are being hurt by these illegal aliens. They take resources away from poor areas. Our schools can’t handle it, our hospitals can’t handle it. That’s why I’m voting for Trump.’

Professor Taylor Dark, of California State University’s political science department, said people should not be surprised that minorities are supporting Trump.

He said: “Many of the predominantly black and working-class Latinos feel that Biden is not putting their interests first. Economically, they feel worse off under Biden.

“The Democratic Party is dominated by college-educated people and their focus on issues like trans rights does not reflect the views of these working-class groups. They’re disabled.

“Many blacks and Latinos don’t like the level of illegal immigration. They basically don’t like it and view illegal immigrants as people who might take their jobs. These minority groups are turning to Trump for the same reasons the white working class embraced him in 2016.”

Neither blacks nor Latinos seem concerned by the claim that Trump is a racist who once stated that he did not want immigrants from Haiti, Africa and “other countries.” “Trump is not perfect and he has said some stupid things and been photographed with some stupid people, but I don’t care,” said a film executive who is a member of the group ‘Blacks For Trump’.

“This is a fight for America. When he was president, Trump passed prison reforms that helped African American communities, he gave grants to black colleges, he gave stimulus checks to promote black-owned small businesses. What has Biden done for us?

“Biden talks the talk, but he’s a limousine liberal who has done nothing of real significance to change the lives of everyday Black people in this country. Traditionally we have voted Democrat, but many were disappointed by Barack Obama.

“He arrived at the White House and offered change and hope, but nothing changed. Black people are tired of being fed lies. Trump can’t do worse than Biden.”

Trump has said he is considering Tim Scott, the first black senator from South Carolina in America’s historically racism-ridden Deep South, as a potential vice presidential running mate. Scott, who briefly opposed Trump before withdrawing from the race to become the Republican nominee, dismissed Trump’s legal troubles and past racist statements, saying, “The American people are more focused on the future than their past.” ‘