German Daily: Süddeutsche Zeitung
In a world increasingly shaped by political extremes and shifting loyalties, the voice of Martha Llamas has remained consistent. As early as 2020, while others hesitated, she stood boldly beside President Trump and spoke about the American Dream she fought to achieve. Now, as the 2024 election looms, a major European newspaper—Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of Germany’s most influential and respected publications—sought her out for a rare international perspective.
Known for its rigorous, independent journalism and global credibility, SZ captured a candid portrait of Martha’s journey, her convictions, and why her message resonates louder than ever. What follows is a full English translation of that profile, originally published on March 18, 2024.
“We Want Trump Again” – Why Some Latinos Back Donald Trump
By Peter Burghardt,
originally published in Süddeutsche Zeitung on March 18, 2024
In September 2020, she sat to the left on stage, with Donald Trump seated on the right. Behind them were the flags of the United States and Arizona. “I’m here to share my American Dream,” began Martha Llamas. At the time, Trump was still president, and had invited her to speak in Phoenix as a representative of Latino business owners. Then, as now, the Latino vote was critical.
Trump usually preferred to speak himself, but this time he listened. She is still proud of that. Her speech lasted nearly five minutes, covering her childhood in Mexico and her career in the United States. “Let’s protect our country,” she said after Trump thanked her. “Let’s protect our American Dream. We are all Americans. It doesn’t matter where you come from. Let’s re-elect President Trump for another four years.”
Nearly four years later, as the 2024 election approached, Llamas sat in an office building on the outskirts of Phoenix on a Sunday morning. Next to her stood a polished elephant figurine. Coincidence, she said, but fitting – the elephant is the symbol of her party, the Republicans. Joe Biden had been in the White House since January 2021. Llamas, a Republican, considered him too old and simply incompetent. “We want Trump again,” she said. “He knows how to run a country. He’s a businessman.”
Llamas, who had fled Mexico more than 40 years earlier, became a U.S. citizen in 2008. She was also a successful businesswoman. For those seeking to understand why many Americans with Spanish-sounding names supported Trump despite his scandals, bankruptcies, and legal troubles, Martha Llamas offered some insight.
It begged the question: why would an immigrant support a man who had said undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” and called them “animals”? Trump planned mass deportations and spoke of an “invasion.” In the year prior, 2.5 million migrants had entered the country without legal permission, many through the Sonoran Desert into Arizona. Even Democrats were calling for stricter immigration laws. But Trump continued to block such measures – the chaos played in his favor.
Phoenix, a sprawling, fast-growing metro area, had become a key battleground in the 2024 presidential election. In 2020, Biden had won the state by only 0.3 percentage points – roughly 10,000 votes. One-third of Arizona’s population, and one in four voters, were Latino. Llamas, now a U.S. citizen living in Scottsdale, was one of them. Maricopa County, home to 4.5 million people, was one of the most hotly contested counties in the nation.
The March sun shone outside; temperatures reached 81 degrees Fahrenheit. In the air-conditioned office, Llamas switched between English and Spanish, especially when discussing her past. She had crossed the border over 40 years ago, just a three-hour drive south. She came from a village in Jalisco, Mexico, where they had washed clothes in the river. Her mother brought her and seven siblings north, fleeing a violent husband and poverty. A typical refugee story, until it took an unusual turn.
At age ten, Llamas had wondered why so many from the south came to the U.S. Then she tasted French fries from an American fast-food place – it felt like a feast. Her mother found jobs in Arizona, and they received visas. In the early 1980s, that had been easier than today. They moved into a house with carpet and hot water. America felt like heaven.
Then came the nightmare. She fell for an older Mexican man who turned out to be a violent drug dealer. He was the father of her two children. During an argument, he shot her. “That was my first life,” Llamas said with a laugh. Her “second life” began when she chose to work hard rather than rely on welfare. She joined a cleaning company and worked obsessively.
Millions of people from similar backgrounds cleaned, cooked, gardened, or did heavy labor across America. Often unrecognized, their work formed the backbone of many industries. But Llamas climbed the ladder. She became a manager, and in 2002, co-founded her own cleaning business with her American husband. By 2024, they employed more than 70 people, nearly all fellow Latinos or Hispanics.
They had paid off their debts in five years. She was invited to conferences and received a “Freedom Medal” from Republican Senator Rick Scott, featuring the GOP elephant. “It’s incredible what you can achieve in America if you really work,” she said. She considered second- and third-generation Hispanic Americans lazy: “We spoiled them.”
In addition to the cleaning business, she co-owned a production company, and sold jewelry and gold-plated pistols – flashy like her smartphone, which sat beside her. She liked guns, even though one had nearly killed her. She would have joined the U.S. Army – “I’m a patriot” – but now her son served. She loved Mexico, but if she had to bleed for a country, it would be for the U.S. “This country gave me everything.”
She had become a Trump supporter in 2016, in reaction to Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act. She said mandatory health insurance forced her to lay off workers. In her view, everything had been better under Trump: the economy, the border, gas prices. To her, Trump embodied the American Dream. Sure, he sometimes spoke before he thought, and she believed abortion was a private matter where politics shouldn’t interfere.
When reminded that Trump often labeled undocumented immigrants as criminals, she replied: “It’s not 100 percent.” She believed many left their home countries because they were poor, hungry, or not good citizens. She also pointed out there had been no wars under Trump, but there were two under Biden. “Why not save that Ukraine money and fix our problems? Homelessness, immigration, the things we need to sort out here.”
“Latinos are waking up,” said Martha Llamas. If Biden still won, she added, “Then people shouldn’t complain when they have to pay more taxes or we end up in another war.”
Original Article by Peter Burghardt
Published in Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 18, 2024
Translated from German for web use with attribution. All rights reserved to the original publisher.
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