Donald Trump Gets Diverse Bay Area Support Despite Rhetoric
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Brash real estate tycoon Donald Trump, who will be the first person nominated for president with neither government nor military experience, is now the presumptive Republican nominee.
In the Bay Area, Trump's support goes well beyond white males, as KCBS Radio's Doug Sovern found out:
With Trump crushing Ted Cruz and John Kasich in the Indiana primary, knocking both Cruz and Kasich out of the race, the California Republican primary just became a coronation. Next month's election will push Trump over the finish line, and clinch the GOP nomination.
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And there are many Californians eager to vote for him. Yes, many are white men, like Kiwi transplant Craig Morrison, a Republican who lives on Bethel Island in the Delta.
"He's a businessman, it's not politics as usual. He's the most charismatic Republican candidate since, I would say, Reagan," Morrison told KCBS.
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There are also Trump converts like Margaret Afif. She is an independent voter from Walnut Creek, of Lebanese descent, who is changing her registration to GOP so she can vote for Trump next month.
"I'm not a demonstrator or a fanatic in any way. I just think he would make a great president," Afif said. "Because we need a president that is going to understand our problems and create jobs for the middle class. I'm from the middle class, and I see a lot of people needing help."
Afif isn't bothered when Trump calls for banning Muslim immigrants, or punishing women who have abortions, or building a wall to keep out Mexican drug dealers and rapists:
"He's just being honest and I don't take offense at the things he said," Afif said.
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Neither does Luisa Aranda, a Mexican-American born and raised in Oakland, who enthusiastically supports Trump, and his call for a wall.
"We're paying almost $4 billion a year in the illegals, the problems are not stopping, things have gotten worse," Aranda said. "All the people who hate us are coming through Mexico, it's dangerous now."
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Sen. Barbara Boxer, one of California's senior Democrats remains confident about her party's chances in November. Boxer told KCBS that these folks do not represent a majority of voters here or across the country.
"If every group that Trump has insulted votes Democratic, we're going to win in the biggest landslide ever," Boxer said.
