The indolence of the Latino Vote in favor of Donald J. Trump in the 2024 presidential election

Abstract

In the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Donald J. Trump was reelected as the 45th President of the United States, following a failed reelection attempt four years earlier in 2020. At that time, it seemed that the political career of the businessman and television personality had come to an end. However, in a sudden political resurgence, Trump’s popularity began to rise sharply, bringing him back onto the political radar as a serious contender for the upcoming presidential election. This resurgence can be attributed to a number of factors, including the poor performance of then-President Joe Biden in the presidential debates, as well as a failed assassination attempt that ultimately propelled Trump to the top of the “undecided electorate’s” preferences. Many viewed him as the candidate who would restore power and prominence to the U.S., driven by a form of nationalism that often has xenophobic undertones.
This paper will focus on the so-called “Latino vote,” which saw an increase in support for Trump in the 2024 election compared to the 2016 and 2020 elections. We will also analyze the anti-immigrant sentiments of individuals descended from undocumented immigrants, as well as those who have regularized their immigration status but initially arrived in the U.S. without documentation. These groups now often turn their backs on newer migrants due to a perceived fear of displacement, giving rise to a racial phenomenon in which Latino immigrants, having secured their own legal status, adopt exclusionary attitudes against others from their own racial or ethnic background.