I am Latino, a veteran and not a racist. These are the reasons why I voted for Trump

One of the most offensive narratives emerging from this year’s presidential election is that Latinos who voted for President Donald Trump are racists.

As someone who served our country in the armed forces, an American of Mexican descent, who proudly cast my vote for President-elect Donald Trump, I condemn this story with every fiber of my being.

I voted for President-elect Donald Trump because the past few years under the current administration have been a disaster on many levels.

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I’m not the only one. According to some surveys, approximately 46% of Latinos nationwide voted for the Republican presidential ticket. Furthermore, President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Harris among Latino men by nearly 10 percentage points.

While some want to chalk this up to sexism, racism, and even misinformation, the answer is simple. To paraphrase Democratic strategist James Carville, “It’s a stupid economy.”

Latinos made gains, but COVID and high inflation got in the way

Although inflation has begun to decline, many Latinos are struggling to make ends meet. I know this anecdotally from the Latinos I minister to and from the plethora of public polling showing that Latinos were most concerned about jobs and the economy leading up to Election Day.

What some in the political class in Nashville and Washington overlook is that inflation and higher costs of living are especially impacting middle-class and lower-class Latinos. That’s because Latinos, on average, have less disposable income and savings than most Americans.

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Latinos also know that things were different a few years ago.

In 2019, the national Latino unemployment rate was at an all-time low.

Homeownership and entrepreneurship rates among Latinos skyrocketed. The economy was growing and many Latinos felt like they were starting to make progress and achieve the American dream.

And then COVID hit, and the bottom fell.

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The Biden administration was brought into power and many Latinos were eager to give Democrats a chance to fix the economy.

Rather than reducing the tax and regulatory burden on job creators, the new administration was convinced that we should grow the size of government and spend freely and indiscriminately.

Inflation soared and stagnant wages failed to keep pace.

Democrats and some in the media told us to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears because national inflation was falling and the economy was doing great!

Latinos weren’t buying it.

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Instead of addressing what a Harris administration would do differently, her campaign paraded Latino celebrities on stage while accusing Republicans of being racists.

In addition to fiddling with the economy, the Biden/Harris administration neglected its duties in securing the U.S.-Mexico border and enforcing our nation’s immigration laws. In their desire not to be Trump, the Biden administration has suspended dozens of immigration regulations that had curbed illegal immigration into the United States.

What followed was one of the largest spikes in illegal immigration in our country’s history.

While Latinos support immigration and immigrants, they equally support the rule of law and desire an orderly process.

Things had gotten so bad that by the summer, polls showed that not only did Latinos no longer trust Democrats on immigration, but some were even calling for the immediate deportation of some illegal immigrants.

This may help explain why six counties along the U.S.-Mexico border voted for the Republican Party, including Starr County, which had not voted for the Republican Party since 1896!

The political class failed to appreciate our love of freedom and opportunity

President-elect Trump promised to turn the page in recent years — and Latinos were ready for change. When asked, I was happy to attend a recent Latino summit in South Florida and advise his campaign.

Supporting his candidacy does not make us racists.

We are hardworking Americans, proud of our Latino heritage, who want to provide for our families and make positive contributions to our local communities.

And most importantly, we love the US and cherish freedom and opportunity.

The sooner the political class realizes this, the better it will be able to win over Latinos in future elections.

Rev. Tommy Vallejos served in the U.S. Army, is a former Montgomery County Commissioner and is the Executive Director for Latinos for Tennessee.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump Deserved the Majority of the Male Latino Vote for a Reason | Opinion