Just like the rest of the American electorate, Filipino-American voters are divided in their support for presidential rivals Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, according to Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, the Philippine envoy to the United States.
“In California, it is very clear that the majority of Filipinos are for Vice President Harris. Meanwhile in Ohio, when Filipinos are from urban cities, they are Harris. If they are from suburban areas, they are for Trump. It’s divided, really,” Romualdez said in a mix of English and Filipino during a radio broadcast.
The envoy noted that Trump is expected to receive strong support in Florida since it is a state that has largely voted Republican, whereas many Filipino voters in New Jersey and New York are going for the Democrat Harris.
“Many Filipinos are against the current administration for two reasons. Number one is the economy and, believe it or not, immigration,” Romualdez explained, adding that this issue is personal for many Filipinos who perceive it as unfair when undocumented immigrants are given opportunities.
“The division can be intense. Just like in the Philippines, even families end up fighting. They are divided,” Romualdez said.
The ambassador however said regardless of the election outcome, the country would continue to strengthen its foreign relations with the United States.
He said that while there may be substantial differences in foreign policy perspectives between the candidates, priorities such as freedom of navigation and economic prosperity would remain central to US interests.
“The interest of the US and other Western countries, they want freedom of navigation because if [an] area is controlled by one government, you cannot pass through that area without asking permission. There are trillions of dollars of trade going through that region (Southeast and Northeast Asia),” Romualdez explained.
Josue Raphael J. Cortez, a lecturer at the School of Diplomacy and Governance at De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, emphasized the vital role of Filipino-Americans’ votes in “shaping” the election turnout.
He elaborated that this is why both candidates “have adopted various strategies” to garner support from this demographic, utilizing tactics such as “billboards and sending candidates of Filipino descent to participate in Filipino-organized events.”
“The possible factors that Filipino-American voters will take into account will include, of course, policies relating to migration and how the next regime would ensure their protection abroad in light of ongoing issues relating to migration and racism, as well as how some of them are being affected by violent nationalist tendencies,” Cortez told Manila Standard.
“At the same time, job security for foreigners is also a key determinant for them given that they have moved there in the first place in search of greener pastures,” he added.
Meanwhile, bitter rivals Harris and Trump embark on a final frenzied campaign blitz Monday (US time) with both hitting must-win Pennsylvania on the last day of the tightest and most volatile US presidential election in memory.
Republican Trump has promised a “landslide” as he seeks a sensational return to the White House, while Democrat Harris said the “momentum” was on the side of her bid to be America’s first woman president.
But the polls suggest a different story on the eve of Election Day — total deadlock in surveys nationally and in the seven swing states where the result is expected to be decided.
Now a race of dramatic twists, including two bids to kill Trump and Harris’s shock late entrance, is coming down to the most viciously fought-over battleground.
Harris will spend the whole day campaigning in the rust-belt state of Pennsylvania, culminating in a huge rally in its biggest city Philadelphia featuring singer Lady Gaga. Trump will travel to North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and then Michigan.
In a sign of how crucial Pennsylvania is to their chances of occupying the Oval Office, Trump and Harris will even hold dueling rallies in the industrial city of Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania is the single biggest swing state prize under the US Electoral College system, which awards influence in line with population.
Both sides say they are encouraged by huge early turnout numbers, with over 78 million people having voted already, around half of the total number of ballots cast in 2020.
The incredible closeness of the 2024 White House race reflects a deeply divided United States, as it chooses between two candidates whose visions could scarcely be more different.
Former president Trump has doubled down on his dark and violent rhetoric in his pursuit of a second term which would make him the first convicted felon and, at 78, the oldest major party candidate ever elected.
Vice President Harris has meanwhile made an astonishing rise to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July. AFP
Harris is hoping abortion is a key issue that can hurt Trump, especially with woman voters, while Trump has focused on migrants and the economy and dubbed political opponents the “enemy from within.”
They have both embarked on a frenetic zig-zag through the swing states, with raucous rallies and even an appearance by Harris on the famed television show “Saturday Night Live.”
On the campaign trail Sunday, Trump mused to supporters that he wouldn’t mind if journalists were shot, raised baseless allegations of election fraud, and dwelt in gory detail on crimes by undocumented immigrants.
“Kamala — you’re fired, get out,” Trump told cheering supporters in Macon, Georgia.
Trump also said he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after he lost his 2020 reelection bid to Biden, and then tried to overturn the results, culminating in the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol.
Fears are mounting that he would again refuse to accept defeat.
‘We have momentum’
For Harris’s part, after a series of more encouraging recent polls, she told a raucous rally in Michigan on Sunday that “we have momentum — it’s on our side.”
Harris also courted the large Arab-American community in Michigan that has denounced US handling of the Israel-Hamas war, saying she would do “everything in my power to end the war in Gaza.”
The world is anxiously watching the election, which could have profound implications for conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The final days of the campaign have meanwhile seen both candidates roll out high-profile surrogates.
Right-wing tech tycoon Elon Musk has been making controversial $1 million giveaways to registered voters, while Harris has relied on the star power of former president Barack Obama and ex-first lady Michelle Obama, and singer Beyonce.
But outgoing President Biden has been notably absent from the trail since a gaffe in which he referred to Trump’s supporters as “garbage” last week.
Biden will spend most of the last day of the campaign at the White House, while Harris will start her day with an event in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
