Opinion: I'm a Latino man and I voted for Trump. That doesn't make me racist.

One of the most insulting narratives coming out of this year’s presidential elections is that Latinos who voted for Donald Trump are racists.

As someone who served our country in the armed forces, an American of Mexican roots, who proudly cast my vote for President-elect Donald Trump, I condemn this narrative with every fiber of my being.

I voted for President-elect Donald Trump because these past few years under the current administration have been a disaster on many levels.

I am not alone: 46% of Latinos nationwide, according to some surveys, voted for the Republican presidential ticket. Moreover, President-elect Donald Trump bested Vice President Kamala Harris among Latino men by 10 percentage points.

Although some want to pin this on sexism, racism and even misinformation, the answer is straightforward. To paraphrase Democratic strategist James Carville, "It’s the economy, stupid."

Latinos were making gains, then COVID and high inflation got in the way

Although inflation is starting to come down, many Latinos struggle to make ends meet. I know this anecdotally from the Latinos I minister to and from the abundance of public polling showing that Latinos were most concerned about jobs and the economy heading into Election Day.

What some in the political class in Nashville and Washington miss is that inflation and a higher cost of living especially impact middle-class and lower-class Latinos. That’s because Latinos, on average, have less disposable income and savings than most Americans.

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Latinos also know that just a few years ago, things were different.

Back in 2019, the national Latino unemployment rate was at a historic low.

Homeownership and entrepreneurship rates among Latinos were booming. The economy was growing, and many Latinos felt like they were beginning to get ahead and live out the American dream.

And then COVID-19 hit, and the bottom fell out.

The Biden administration was ushered into power and many Latinos were eager to give Democrats a chance to fix the economy.

Instead of reducing the tax and regulatory burden on job creators, the new administration was convinced that we needed to grow the size of the government and spend freely and indiscriminately.

Inflation soared, and stagnant wages failed to keep pace.

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Democrats and some in the news media told us to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears because the national inflation rate was going down and the economy was doing great!

Latinos were not buying it.

Hispanic voters support immigration but also the rule of law

Instead of addressing what a Harris administration would do differently, her campaign paraded Latino celebrities onstage while accusing Republicans of being racists.

Besides fumbling the economy, the Biden/Harris administration was derelict in its duties in securing the U.S.-Mexico border and enforcing our country’s immigration laws. In their desire to not be Trump, the Biden administration suspended dozens of immigration rules that had contained illegal immigration into the United States.

What followed was one of the biggest spikes in illegal immigration in our country’s history.

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Although Latinos are supportive of immigration and immigrants, they are equally supportive of the rule of law and desire an orderly process.

Things had gotten so bad that by the summer, polls were showing that not only were Latinos no longer trusting Democrats on immigration, but some were even calling for the immediate deportation of some illegal immigrants.

This may help explain why counties along the U.S.-Mexico border voted for the Republican Party, including Starr County, which had not voted for the GOP since 1892!

The political class failed to appreciate our love for freedom and opportunity

President-elect Trump promised to turn the page on the past few years – and Latinos were ready for a change. When asked, I was happy to attend a recent Latino summit in South Florida to advise his campaign.

Supporting his candidacy does not make us racists.

We are hardworking Americans, proud of our Latino heritage, who want to provide for our families and contribute positively to our local communities.

And most important, we love the USA and cherish freedom and opportunity.

The sooner the political class realizes this, the better they will be able to win over Latinos in future elections.

The Rev. Tommy Vallejos served in the U.S. Army, is a former Montgomery County commissioner, and is the executive director for Latinos for Tennessee. This column originally appeared in The Tennessean.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Opinion: Trump won Latino votes like mine on immigration, economy