For years, Donald Trump has made derogatory remarks about Latinos and immigrants. Yet Trump received 47% of the Latino vote in 2024, a wider margin than ever before and the highest share ever for a Republican presidential candidate.

This shift reveals a complex intersection of economic concerns, social media influence, and changing cultural dynamics, particularly among young Latino men. Trends reveal Latinos are voting more conservatively, even in big cities like Chicago And Philadelphia.

“Young Hispanics don’t have the same muscle memory as their grandparents who voted for Democrats for 50 years,” says Republican media strategist. Giancarlo Sopowho worked on Latino outreach for Trump’s 2020 campaign, told Reuters on Thursday.

Young Latino men in particular, who grew up in conservative families, also consume “manosphere“Content that promotes hypermasculinity and the same content creators they follow have expressed their alliance with Trump.

Latinos are not a monolith but their concerns may be

While political analysts often treat Latino voters as a unified bloc, their origins range from fifth-generation Mexican Americans in Texas to recent Venezuelan immigrants in Florida, with each group bringing distinct perspectives and policy priorities .

For example, Society of the Americas/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) The breakdown of the Latino vote by heritage shows that Cubans dominated the Latino vote for Trump with 58%. Historically, most Cubans in the United States are Republicans and have higher voter turnout than other Latino communities. During the Cold War conflict, this group was also allowed to enter the United States in which no other Latino groups were allowed, giving rise to a different immigration story and putting distance between Cubans in America and other refugees and immigrants.

“Despite our good fortune, far too many Cuban Americans in South Florida callously embrace MAGA agendas. anti-immigration feelings towards equally worthy refugees. Too often, my fellow Cuban-Americans let their sense of exceptionalism cloud their hearts. Have decades of comfort stifled their empathy? Cuban-American columnist Lizette Alvarez written in a Washington Post Opinion Article 2022.

For comparison, South Americans made up the second-largest group of Latinos for Trump, with 41% of the vote. Followed by 37% of Puerto Ricans and 36% of Central Americans. About 33% of Mexicans voted for Trump. according to AS/COA data.

Immigration is an important Latino origin story, but that has changed. Not only are 81% of Latinos in the United States citizens, but most were born in the United States. In 2020, 68% of Latinos in the country were born here, up from 60% in 2000, according to UCLA.

Balta said politicians see Latinos through their race and culture, but don’t appeal to how Latinos see themselves: as Americans. Many of them are blue-collar workers who feel ignored by the establishment.

“So when we talk about the Latino electorate, we’re talking about U.S. citizens and not just naturalized citizens…and then you’re also talking about the second, third (and) in Texas four and five generations of Latinos, they’re so truly consider themselves Americans,” he said.

Although far from their home countries, many of which have strong religious and macho influences in their culture, young Latinos born in the United States are facing a new wave of conservatism driven by the media they consume.

Despite years of insults, Latinos voted for Trump

Trump’s historic gains with Latino voters came despite a long history of controversial statements about the community. In his Announcement of the 2015 presidential campaignhe characterized Mexican immigrants as “bringing drugs…crime…rapists.” His promised Mexican border wall remained largely unbuiltwith Mexico refuses to spend a cent. More recently, he has targeted Venezuelan immigrants considered criminals and made unsubstantiated claims about Haitian immigrants eat cats and dogs during the 2024 presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.

The latest incident targeting Latinos occurred at an Oct. 27 Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as “floating garbage island“, a statement that did not go down well in a city is home to 574,000 Puerto Ricans.

Despite all this, Trump made historic gains among Latino voters.

More Latinos voted for Trump this year than in previous elections, receiving 45% of the vote, 13% more than in 2020, according to NBC exit pollsa record for a Republican presidential candidate. Although intersectional data on how many young Latinos chose Trump has not been released, the survey output data which is available reveals a lot of things:

• 55% of Latino men and 38% of Latino women voted for Trump
• 40% of Latino voters 18-29 year olds voted for Trump, compared to 43% of all voters aged 18-29

“As the dust still settles on how Latinos actually voted in this election, it’s clear that our community is primarily concerned about the economy and the same pocketbook issues as other Americans, like rising taxes. costs of food, housing and other essentials. Deep concerns about inflation and the need to make ends meet almost singularly determined how Hispanics voted in this election. Janet Murguía, President and CEO of UnidosUS said in a statement Thursday.

Throughout the political season, polls have consistently shown that the economy is the top issue for the vast majority of Latinos. Vote published by the Pew Research Center In September, 85% of Latinos said the economy was important to their vote this year, but among Latinos who said they were voting for Trump, 93% cited the economy as their top issue, followed by violent crime, 73%, and immigration. 71%.

“Latinos were saying, ‘I don’t care what Trump says.’ I want to be able to pay the bills. I want to be able to send my child to college. I want to pay the mortgage, get a new car,” University of Houston professor of political science Jeronimo Cortina told Axios.

Latino News Network Editor Hugo Balta shared with Illinois Public Media that Latinos were able to ignore Trump’s remarks because it is more important to be able to provide for their families.

“People are appalled and certainly against it, but they’re not necessarily voting based on Donald Trump’s rhetoric, derogatory comments, (or) insults toward the Latino community, they’re voting to put food on the table. table, to put a roof over their heads and to provide for their families,” Balta said.

The young people who participated in Democratic National Convention in August also told Reckon that the economy was a central issue in their decision-making in the election.

“(The economy is) something that I think is on the minds of young Americans for almost every decision, and something that I think about all the time,” Jessica Siles, 24, said. “It’s definitely helped me decide what areas I can and can’t live in.”

Why is Gen Z becoming so conservative?

Both candidates attempted to meet young people online by integrating social media into their campaigns in interesting and novel ways. Harris’s use of Charlie XCX Lime Green Kid Pictures and Midwest Princess borrowing from Chappel Roan camouflage hat has gained traction among young women and queer people. Harris appeared on the Call Him Dad Podcastwhile Trump opted for Theo Von And Joe Roganwhose only audience reaches 14.5 million subscribers – mostly young men.

Before Election Day, Trump received endorsements or support from many stars in the manosphere, an online ecosystem of male-focused content promoting traditional masculinity and anti-feminist views. These included Twitter owner/X Elon Musk’s continued support and a Rogan’s November 4 endorsement. The Joe Rogan Experience is the most streamed podcast with an audience that is 80% male, 51% ages 18-34, and 21% identifying as Hispanic or Latino. according to Edison Research.

The trends showed Gen Z men are more conservativefeeling their future is uncertain and their identity is threatened, according to the 2023 State of American Men report from Equimondan organization that works to promote gender equity by engaging men and boys in partnerships with other genders. The report also found that 53% of men believe that men in the United States are struggling more than women today and that men aged 18 to 23 are the least optimistic about their future. and the lowest levels of social support.

The gender divide among Latino voters reflects a dramatic national shift. As young Latino men are increasingly attracted to conservative media and traditional masculinity, Gallup data shows that young women aged 18 to 29 are moving significantly to the left. The ideological gap between young men and young women has quintupled since 2000, with young women now 15% more likely to identify as liberal than their male counterparts. This polarization extends beyond politics: 71% of Democratic students say they would not date someone who voted for the opposing presidential candidate, suggesting that these ideological divisions could reshape social relations in the country. within Latin American communities.

This forces many men to seek community in the manosphere, which has helped pushing extremist ideology around gender roles in the minds of young men and in American politics.

“It’s a subculture that seems to give young men a sense of identity and belonging in a world where they don’t really find that elsewhere,” Margot Peppers, consumer trends editor at Foresight Factorywho produced a report on the rise of antifeminism in the United States last year, told Reckon in January.

Key figures in this movement like Andrew Tate promote male dominance and incel rhetoric, which has been linked to violent crime among some men.

The identity of Latino men in the United States is changing, deepening the macho ideology they may have grown up around consuming white supremacy and American-born male dominance.