Many California Latinos adamantly oppose Trump because of his stance on immigrants. Why does Juan Hernandez support him?
You know, he’s not alone. Some Latinos who’ve been here for generations, whose families came here legally, feel we should follow the laws, and that people who came here illegally should “do it the right way.” On my way out of the hotel this morning, I ran into a couple from San Bernardino. They’re big Trump supporters who said they take a lot of flak from their friends who are Latino, but they are unapologetic. They believe in what he’s saying -- "build the wall."
Juan also told me that the speech where Trump famously called Mexicans rapists and criminals has to be taken in context. “The whole speech says that there are good people that come over here. And in his words, he said that there are fabulous people. We are fabulous, so he got it right!"
You and KQED reporter Katie Orr also talked to the youngest delegate from California, UC Berkeley student Claire Chiara. She’s pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, but thinks Trump’s economic policies would open up job opportunities for her when she graduates from college.
“I do have friends that tease me,” she said. “And I have friends that think I am doing really great. And on both sides, I never take it personally. You can’t judge someone based on their political beliefs. You have to understand that they want what’s best for the country, just like you do.”
In addition to meeting delegates, you’ve also talked to Californians protesting outside the convention.
That’s right, I talked to Randy Villegas and Jarrett Ramones, both young people from the Central Valley. They’re with YouthWire, a statewide network of young reporters who’ve been blogging and posting video online. They captured this confrontation between Trump supporters and demonstrators.
They’re student journalists, and they look really young. I asked them whether they felt like they were treated like an older journalist, somebody who’s well known.
“I feel like I’ve gotten just as much respect as the guy with the big camera with the CNN logo, as anyone else,” said Ramones.
Randy Villegas told me that he got into an argument with a Trump guy over immigration. I asked him, did he feel like that was his role as a journalist? And he told me that [Univision’s] Jorge Ramos is his inspiration. He said, as a young reporter from the Central Valley, where there are huge populations of undocumented immigrants, Villegas felt like it was his duty to ask those kinds of questions.
You’ve been covering the convention all week for KQED and The California Report -- putting in some long hours, witnessing some pretty historic speeches and tussles within the Republican party. What’s it been like for you personally?
We live in a bit of a bubble. When you live on the coast, or live in a big city, there’s not a lot of diversity of opinion. One of the things I like about getting out of the bubble is you get to hear firsthand about what people think, and how strongly they hold those beliefs. Juan Hernandez, for example, who is LGBT and Latino, has beliefs that aren’t typical of his demographic. Same with some African-Americans and Asian-Americans I spoke to. It’s just good to hear that there isn’t a monolith out there. And people are so eager and open, and they just want to tell you their story. And that’s what we’ve been doing out here this week.
Was there anything that really surprised you this week?
I was surprised at the dark tone taken by Donald Trump in his speech. If you look back to Ronald Reagan, who is such an icon for Republicans, his speeches were very sunny and optimistic. He was running at a time when inflation and unemployment were so high, and interest rates in the double digits. And yet he managed to paint a picture of the country that was very upbeat. There was none of that this week.
And next week, you’re headed to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. What can you tell us about California’s role there?
It’s going to be a lot bigger than it was here in Cleveland. California is critical to the Democratic Party in terms of fundraising, and it’s likely to deliver a lot of electoral votes for Hillary Clinton. Gov. Jerry Brown will be speaking in prime time, as will Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom. So Democrats from California will have a real front-row seat at next week’s convention.
