Why Latinos Voted for Trump | 5-Minute Videos | PragerU

Millions of Latino voters shifted right in 2024. Is this a true political realignment, or a one-time phenomenon? The answer to this question may determine the future of American politics.

Transcript:

Why Latinos Voted for Trump

Presented by Franklin Camargo

For decades, Hispanics have been considered a reliable voting block for the Democratic Party.

It didn’t matter who the candidate was.

The assumption was: if you’re Hispanic, you vote blue.

That didn’t happen in 2024.

In fact, perhaps the biggest shock of the American presidential election was the movement of Hispanic voters from Left to Right. That shift was dramatic enough to allow Republicans to sweep the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.

This leads to some intriguing questions.

Is the shift a one-off?

Is there a historical precedent for this shift?

What are the key causes and implications?

Let’s try to answer the first question by looking at some numbers.

In 2012, 71% of Hispanics voted for Barack Obama.

That dropped to 66% for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

In 2020, it dropped a bit further: Joe Biden won 65% of the Latino vote.

And then in 2024, according to NBC exit polls, Kamala Harris got 52% of the Hispanic vote. Donald Trump secured 46% — the highest for any Republican presidential candidate in recent memory.

To understand what’s happening with Hispanics today, let’s look at another pivotal realignment: the shift of white voters in the South from Democrat to Republican.

For over a century, white Southerners were, for the most part, staunch Democrats. But in the late ‘60s, they started to trend Republican.

The reason?

“Racism.”

That was the argument made by the Left. It was a convenient excuse but it wasn’t accurate.

The fact is the Southern shift to the GOP was driven overwhelmingly by the Democratic Party’s embrace of left-wing values: big government, contempt for patriotism, and denigration of religious faith.

Fast forward to today: How does the Left explain Latino defection to the Right?

“Racism.”

Here’s how they work it out: those Latinos who voted Republican have become "tools of white supremacy.” Throw in misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia, and it all makes sense — to the left.

Aside from being patronizing, this is as inaccurate as it was in explaining the white Southern shift fifty years ago.

Just like those Southern whites, today’s Latinos are changing their political affiliation because the Democratic Party no longer represents their values.

A powerful example is Starr County, Texas—a border county that is 97% Hispanic.

For a century, it was deep blue. Then, in 2024, it flipped.

Democrats assumed that Hispanics near the border would support their immigration policies. But Latinos in Starr County felt the impact of those policies:

Streets taken over by foreign gangs.

Schools flooded with migrant children.

Hospital emergency rooms overwhelmed.

According to Pew Research, 75% of Latinos see the border crisis as a major problem.

Let’s look at another values issue: faith and traditional family values.

According to a 2020 study, over three-quarters of Hispanic Americans strongly identify as Christian. Faith and traditional family values shape their worldview.

That sounds a lot more in line with the Republican than the Democratic Party.

Most Latino voters don’t want their kids taught to question their “gender” any more than most white voters do.

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