A Latino radio host offered insight into why some argue that sexism is what cost Vice President Kamala Harris to lose votes in his demographic the way she did, ultimately costing her the 2024 presidential election.
"It was the Latino men who decided that they were going to vote for Donald Trump. And I will dare to say that it's the Latino man who wouldn't want a woman president. You and I had this discussion before, and I have audio from the Latino men who were calling my show telling me that they wouldn't vote for her just because she was a woman," Pennsylvania-based radio host Victor Martinez said in a discussion with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace.
Following Harris' concession of the presidential race to President-elect Donald Trump, Martinez claimed any female candidate for the nation's highest office would struggle to convince Latino voters that they would be a better pick than a male candidate due to sexist cultural outlooks existing within the community.
"And that is unfortunate, but that's part of the Latino culture, right?" he told MSNBC. "The man, he's the one, the provider. And we're the boss, and we still, unfortunately, have a lot of Latinos with that mentality where the woman belongs in the kitchen. That is a reality of the Latino male chauvinist culture. And I think that's exactly what happened."
Martinez further pointed out the discrepancies between Latino turnout for female candidates such as Harris and former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and turnout for male candidates such as President Joe Biden. According to exit polls, Harris received only 52% of the Latino vote, which was nine points behind Biden, who won 61% of their support, reported CNN.
Martinez also claimed that there was little the Democratic party could actually do to convince Latino voters to support any female candidate they presented to them.
"I mean, again, they were willing to vote for Joe Biden. They were just not willing to vote for Kamala Harris. So I will say, listen, the Democratic Party needs to make sure that they regroup, that they look for somebody young, vibrant. They can make the case just like Joe Biden did. But unfortunately, as far as these Latino men. I don't think at any time in the future they will vote for a female president," Martinez told MSNBC.
"That's sad to say. I'm a Latino man. I supported Kamala Harris. But I can tell you, I heard it. I brought that to your attention. I brought you audios of men calling my show and telling me, oh no, no, no, she won't be respected. No, no, no, no. There is no way she can handle the job. And I will argue with them on the air, and I will bring examples of all the female powerful leaders in the world, and they seem not to want to hear it," he continued.
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