More than half of registered Latino American voters believe the economy has taken a turn for the worse under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
In a poll released by UnidosUS this week, 35% of Latino Americans said their personal economic situation has worsened since the beginning of the year. Two-thirds of those surveyed believe Trump’s sweeping tariffs will bring the US economy into shambles and lead to higher prices.
Overall, nearly two-thirds of Hispanic voters believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, and hold an unfavorable view of Trump. They also disapproved of billionaire Elon Musk’s massive cuts — many to social safety nets in the US and around the world — via the Department of Government Efficiency.
Economic Priorities Ignored
”Latino voters are frustrated that their economic priorities are being ignored and that a key promise made by President Trump during the election is not being kept,” said Janet Murguía, president and CEO of UnidosUS. “Economic discontent was the most potent driver in the 2024 election, helping President Trump increase support among Latinos. But over half of Hispanic voters feel the economy is worse now than a year ago and nearly as many believe it will be worse a year from now,” she added.
Four of the top five priorities for Hispanic voters continue to be driven by pocketbook issues, according to the UnidosUS poll.
- #1 Cost of living / inflation (52%) — main concerns are cost of food and basic living expenses, housing affordability.
- #2 Jobs and economy (40%) — wages, job security, prices, job creation.
- #3 Housing (28%) — rising cost of rent and cost of electricity, utilities, taxes, home insurance, home maintenance and repairs.
- #4 Health care (23%) — cost of insurance and prescription medications.
- #5 Immigration (21%) — legalization for long-residing undocumented immigrants and those brought here as children, cracking down on human traffickers and drug smugglers.
Tariffs Devastate AAPI Small Businesses
Asian Americans are also concerned about the direction of the economy, said Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chair Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York. “Small business owners in Chinatowns across the country are pleading with the Trump administration to reverse course after it had implemented sweeping tariffs, including a devastating 145% tariff on Chinese goods. Mom-and-pop stores that barely survived the pandemic are now staring down another crisis, wondering if they will have to shutter their businesses for good,” wrote the congresswoman, in an op-ed forwarded by CAPAC to American Community Media.
“Some of my constituents supported President Trump, believing he would make lowering costs his top priority. The America they received in the last 100 days is far from what they were promised.”
”So what happened to Trump’s pledge to “bring prices down, starting on day one”? The answer is simple: No president can wave a magic wand to instantly lower prices. Trump never should have made such a promise,” wrote Meng.
The congresswoman opined that Trump’s first 100 days in office have “focused on taxpayer funded handouts to billionaires.”
