In Miami, Trump’s ardent backers are a sign of the city’s rightward shift

Miami’s Rightward Shift: Trump’s Support Base Shaping the City’s Political Landscape

The political landscape in Florida has undergone a significant shift to the right, particularly in the vibrant southeastern coast of the state, where the latest developments surrounding Donald Trump are capturing attention.

In recent years, Republicans have steadily gained ground in this former Democratic stronghold, culminating in their success in carrying Miami-Dade County in the midterm elections last year. The GOP’s future prospects now seem to depend on the happenings in South Florida, albeit for a different reason.

Donald Trump, the former president and frontrunner for the 2024 GOP nomination, is scheduled to appear in federal court for the first time in Miami on Tuesday. He faces 37 felony counts related to charges of illegally retaining classified information.

These charges have thrust Miami into the center of a narrative that was primarily believed to be unfolding within a grand jury room in Washington. They have also brought attention to Trump’s rising popularity among Florida’s Latino population, with some drawing parallels between the former president’s prosecution and the persecution of opposition leaders in other parts of the world, despite the longstanding U.S. tradition of upholding the rule of law and an independent judiciary.

Miami-Dade County, with its 1.5 million eligible Latino voters, stands as Florida’s most populous county. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won the county by a margin of almost 30 percentage points against Trump. However, Trump made significant gains in 2020, narrowing the margin to 9 percentage points in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.

The county’s political shift was evident when Trump, on the day his indictment was unsealed, played golf with Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, whose district covers parts of Miami-Dade. Gimenez, who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, supported Trump in 2020 and even backed efforts to challenge the election results following the Capitol insurrection on January 6.

Trump’s visit to his golf resort in the Miami suburb of Doral, also known as “Doralzuela” due to its sizable population of Venezuelans, further underscores the substantial gains made by the GOP among certain demographic groups.

Ernesto Ackerman, a member of the Venezuelan-American Republican Club, expressed the sentiment among some Miami residents, stating, “There is no equal justice for all. Trump has been persecuted for six years. They are looking for excuses to impeach him because they are terrified of him.”

To mobilize his Miami support base, Trump used his recent campaign rally in North Carolina to remind voters of his hardline stance against Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, juxtaposing it with the Biden administration’s efforts to ease sanctions on the socialist leader.

With Miami serving as a hotbed for far-right ideologies, there are concerns about the potential for protests to escalate on Tuesday. Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales declined to provide specifics about security precautions but expressed confidence that no issues would arise.

The Wilkie D. Ferguson Federal Courthouse in Miami is now heavily guarded by security personnel and federal officers. Numerous media tents have been set up to cover this historic case.

Alex Otaola, a Cuban-born YouTube personality running for Miami-Dade County mayor, has been rallying his significant following to protest Trump’s prosecution. Otaola is known for organizing pro-Trump caravans in Miami’s Little Havana and other neighborhoods.

While Miami has seen its share of high-profile national security cases in the past, such as the prosecution of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega in the 1990s and the trial of American al-Qaeda recruit Jose Padilla, Trump’s case was filed in West Palm Beach, 70 miles north of Miami. The initial assignment of the case to Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee who faced criticism for rulings in his favor during a dispute over seized classified documents last year, raises questions about potential advantages for the former president’s defense strategy.

Former federal prosecutor David Weinstein suggests that Trump’s initial appearance in Miami may be due to the media’s keen interest and the need for heightened federal law enforcement to ensure a safe and secure proceeding.

Although Trump denies seeking attention through his federal indictment, he frequently boasts about the love and support he receives from his followers.

Prior to the midterm elections last year, Trump held a rally in Miami alongside U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, attracting thousands of supporters who proudly displayed signs reading “Cubans for Trump,” “Nicaraguans for Trump,” and “Venezuelans for Trump.”

When Trump praised Hispanics as “great people,” the crowd responded with cheers and chants of “We love you! We love you!”

In response, Trump affectionately replied, “Oh, do I love you, too. You have no idea how much.”

Gisela Salomon, a writer for Big Big News, contributed to this report from Miami.

For more information on Donald Trump-related investigations, visit: https://bigbignews.net/donald-trump

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