Working-class Latino and Asian neighborhoods in Southeast Los Angeles went heavily for Trump in 2024, probably mirroring what happened across the country.
Historically, the Democrats have been the party of the working class, while Republicans were the party of the rich. In policy terms, that hasn’t changed, other than better-educated Republicans have temporarily gone over to the Democrats because of Trump. But in 2024, working-class voters embraced Trump’s faux-populism and abandoned the Democrats in droves.
Why they did seems, at first blush, superficial; they didn’t necessarily blame Biden and Harris for grocery prices, but struggling with inflation, they “wanted someone new.” In other words, change for change’s sake, without thinking very much about what they’d be getting. I have a feeling a lot of those voters will soon feel buyer’s remorse.
What they’re getting is a racist administration staffed with billionaires looking to feather their own nests at the expense of the social safety net. Some of those voters have undocumented family members, and have heard Trump’s deportation rhetoric, but don’t believe he’ll follow through. That’s a gamble they may lose.
They had other reasons, too: Crime, and resentment of newly-arrived immigrants, especially those from Venezuela. And Harris was hurt by her status as part of the Biden administration. One voter interviewed by Mother Jones said (and pre-election polls showed) she would’ve voted for Michelle Obama. But with Harris heading the Democratic ticket, she voted for Trump.
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