As a liberal American who has never lived in a state where my presidential vote counted (thanks to our white, male, landowning founders having created a little system of disenfranchisement called the Electoral College), it’s long been hard for me to fathom why so many slices of the US electorate eagerly organize against themselves. There’s the Log Cabin Republicans, serving queer conservative interests (while sidestepping their party’s ingrained homo-and-trans-phobia) since 1977; and Black folks who subscribe to the jurisprudence of the only Black man on the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, a far-right, anti-affirmative action zealot. (Whose philosophy, I might mention, is shockingly rooted in Black nationalism. But that’s a puzzle for another column – or rather book. Check out Corey Robin’s The Enigma of Clarence Thomas.)
That said, ever since Trump descended his faux golden escalator onto the political scene, ranting incoherently about “Mexican rapists,” a new demographic head-scratcher emerged: the MAGA Hispanic (and specifically MAGA Hispanic Man). Which, of course, has sent the mainstream media into a frenzy for the past four years – especially in these days and weeks before US President-elect Biden’s victory (wow, it felt good to type that!) – trying to find and then figure out who the nearly 30 percent of Hispanic voters claiming to support Donald J. Trump really are.
Not surprisingly, since the “Hispanic electorate” is far from a monolithic bloc, MAGA Man runs the gamut. There are South Florida’s staunchly anti-Communist Cuban and Venezuelan exiles, glued to Trump’s bombastic anti-Castro and anti-Maduro rhetoric. And Trump’s evangelical base, lest we forget, includes Hispanic evangelicals who, like their WASP counterparts, prioritize religion above all else. It’s also a fact that within ICE, Border Patrol, and even the military, Hispanic men are overrepresented – and appreciate Trump’s pro-law enforcement posturing more than they are concerned with his anti-immigrant policies. In addition, the NY Times even recently offered the very NY Times-ey theory of Trump’s “macho allure” – though that’s likely a case that could be made for MAGA alpha males of every stripe.
Interestingly, less has been written about what I’ve been witnessing – specifically as the resident of a southwest state. Though New Mexico is solidly blue (hence my lefty presidential vote not counting), I venture to guess that the majority of MAGA supporters here are Hispanic – because the largest ethnic group, who make up close to 40% of my state, are Hispanic. Specifically what’s categorized as White (Hispanic) – which is crucial. For while the media might call these folks MAGA Hispanics they’d do better by focusing more on the “White” and less on the “Hispanic.” In other words, Hispanics in my state can best be viewed through Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s right-on-the-money lens of caste.
To put it bluntly, the center of power in my state lies not with White (Non-Hispanic) people like myself but with White (Hispanics). Who, of course, want to remain at the top of the hierarchy. Thus, Trump’s xenophobia, at least from their POV, doesn’t touch them or their loved ones. It’s aimed at the “other” – be it the indigenous Central Americans trying to cross the border, or their American Indian and Alaska Native (Non-Hispanic) neighbors, who make up New Mexico’s third largest ethnic group (and who, it must be said, have historical trauma dating back to the Conquistadors).
So, who exactly is this mythical MAGA Hispanic man? The answer is mundanely clear. Here in the southwest at least he’s just another white guy voting his caste.
Image credit: R. Nial Bradshaw