Donald Trump has been re-sworn in as President of the United States. And for this re-ascendency, he owes a thank you to Latino voters, especially Latino evangelicals. They turned out for him in double digits in the last election. So what is it about Latinos, evangelicalism, and Trump's brand of Republicanism that helped tip the White House back in his favor?President and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute, Robert P. Jones, and Axios Justice and Race reporter Russell Contreras join Brittany to get at the root of this shift and what it means for our political future.Support public media and receive ad-free listening & bonus. Join NPR+ today.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Full Episode
First of all, Hispanics love Trump.
They do.
In the wake of the last election, much was made about the so-called, quote unquote, Latino vote. One of the very important keys to Donald Trump's victory was getting a larger share of votes from Latinos. Historically, Latino voters have leaned blue, but this election saw a major shift, with more Latinos than ever voting for Trump.
And while this left many pundits puzzled, there's a growing movement that might explain why some Latinos are finding a new home on the right.
Latino Evangelicals.
That service you hear is being led by Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Pastor Rodriguez is just one of a growing number of church leaders looking to the Latino community to grow his flock.
Over the last 20 years, white evangelicals have gone from being nearly a quarter of the U.S. population to only 13. And so it's been in that period of white evangelical decline that really, frankly, by necessity, they tried to look, well, where else can we find members?
You've also had a movement in Latin America and the United States where evangelical charismatic Christians has been very aggressive in the community in recruiting new members.
My guests, Robert P. Jones from the Public Religion Research Institute. Great to be here. And Axios justice and race reporter Russell Contreras. Good to be with you. Have been following this shift for a while. Now, let's be clear. No group is a monolith. And the reasons behind these demographic shifts are nuanced, to say the least.
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