According to a national poll conducted by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative, a majority of Hispanics think U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will not be good for the country’s economy or the United States’ relationships with other countries.
Overall, 47 percent of Hispanics responding to the survey think Trump will make the economy better while 53 percent think he is going to make the economy worse. Only 30 percent of Hispanics think Trump will improve the United States’ relationship with other countries, while 70 percent think he will worsen them.
A majority of Hispanics also do not trust the federal government, with 47 percent saying they have a fair amount or a great deal of trust, and 53 percent saying they have not much trust or none at all.
“As expected Hispanics are pessimistic about the economic outlook of the nation and foreign policy under President-elect Donald Trump,” said Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., director of the BEPI and associate professor of economics in the FAU College of Business. “Perhaps a plausible explanation for such pessimism is the uncertainty regarding immigration policy that directly affects a great number of Hispanics.”
Overall, 73 percent of Hispanics said they voted for Hillary Clinton, while 22 percent voted for Trump and 5 percent for someone else. Hispanics under the age of 35 (26%) were more likely to vote for Trump than those 35 to 54 years old (20%) and those over 55 (18%).
Of the 28 percent of Hispanics who did not vote in the U.S. presidential election, 22 percent of them indicated their reason was they disliked both candidates.
“Our survey shows that President-elect Trump has a significant task in attracting the support of Hispanics who overwhelmingly voted against him and are not optimistic about the upcoming new administration,” said Kevin Wagner, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at FAU and a research fellow of the Initiative.
The national poll of 500 Hispanics was conducted Nov. 1-30 and carries a +/- 4.33 percent margin of error and a 95 percent confidence level.
