Of all the demographic groups that have found themselves on the receiving end of the president’s rhetorical barbs, perhaps none have more reason to feel offended than Latinos. Trump has spoken of immigrants crossing the southern border as “rapists” and “murderers” — and deeming them all “Mexicans,” hence his insistence that Mexico pay for the Wall.
Yet despite the president’s rhetorical harshness, Latino support for the Republican Party has held constant. One-third of Latinos voted Republican in the midterm elections, a four percentage point rise from the share that voted for Trump in 2016. In an election dominated by discussion of Trump’s hostility towards illegal immigration, Hillary Clinton managed to secure less support from Latinos than former President Barack Obama got against Mitt Romney in 2012.
