Gay, Muslim, Hispanic: meet Donald Trump's most unlikely supporters September 26, 11:51 PM Kicker This is a kicker.

Offence has become Donald Trump's currency in his race to the White House. But some voters on the receiving end have become his most ardent \- and most surprising \- defenders.

_By [Tom Rowley,](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/tom\-rowley/) Monday 26th September 2016_ If anything comes between Donald Trump and the White House, it is unlikely to be self\-doubt. Whichever section of the American electorate he contemplates, he finds supporters. I have a great relationship with the blacks, he once said. Another time, he told a television reporter: Im doing good for the Muslims. And last year, he reported one upside to his plans for the economy: The Hispanics are going to get those jobs \- and theyre going to love Trump!

> Voting for Trump is like being a unicorn. Its pretty sad.

According to polls, however, these groups of voters are markedly less enthusiastic about a Trump presidency. A recent [Washington Post\-ABC News poll found Hispanic voters favoured Hillary Clinton by a 41\-point margin](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton\-holds\-lead\-over\-trump\-in\-new\-poll\-but\-warning\-signs\-emerge/2016/09/10/800dee0c\-76c8\-11e6\-b786\-19d0cb1ed06c\_story.html), while African Americans backed the Democratic candidate over Mr Trump by 82 points. Another poll, by the Council on American\-Islamic Relations, found that only [one in 10 American Muslims supported the Republican nominee](https://www.cair.com/press\-center/press\-releases/13423\-cair\-super\-tuesday\-poll\-shows\-muslim\-voters\-support\-hillary\-clinton\-concerned\-about\-islamophobia.html), who has also struggled to attract support from gay people and college\-educated women.

[Crude generalisations about minorities](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/28/donald\-trumps\-anti\-immigrant\-rhetoric\-sparks\-rush\-for\-american\-c/) \- as well as plans to build a wall on the Mexican border and a mooted ban on Muslims entering the country \- have hardly helped his cause. Yet Mr Trump retains cheerleaders in surprising quarters. As the race for the White House enters its final stretch with the first televised presidential debate on 26th September, _The Daily Telegraph_ toured the United States to meet Americans who are bucking demographic trends \- and sometimes ignoring the candidates own barbs \- to back Mr Trump. From a gay New Yorker to a Muslim immigrant, these are some of his unlikeliest supporters.

Trump's wall would stop the illegal activities happening along the border

The Hispanic, just a mile from Mexico

Most people would call me Mexican, says Jesus Flores, and I dont have a problem with being called Mexican. But if someone asks me, I say Im a US citizen with Mexican heritage. Im proud to be American. The 63\-year\-old was born in Laredo, Texas, where he now runs a business repairing sewing machines. His father was Mexican \- as is his wife \- and half of his customers come from Nuevo Laredo, just a mile across the border. Even so, he does not recoil from Mr Trumps judgement that when Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending the best They bring crime. Theyre rapists. Mr Flores wouldnt repeat his words but shares some of the fears Mr Trump has stoked. As a child, he would cross the Rio Grande, which forms a natural border in this corner of Texas, every day to visit his grandmother, but now ventures across the bridge only a few times a year. It got harder over the years because of all the violence in Mexico, he says. Theres gunfights, there are drug cartels. If you cross the river, youre risking very much \- youre risking life, if you dont know where you are.

> Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

A few months ago, Mr Flores bought his first gun, so concerned is about the risk posed by illegal immigrants. Mr Trumps proposed wall would, he says, stop the illegal activities happening along the border: the crime, the drugs and everything else that goes on. I wish he would tone down his talk sometimes, concedes Mr Flores, but he is what he is. Theres more things I like about him than I dont.

I think he can create jobs in America and the black community need them desperately

The black campaigner

Of the 2,472 Republican delegates sent to the partys national convention this summer, only 18 were black. Its like being a unicorn, says one of their number, a 40\-year\-old Texan called Henry Childs. Its pretty sad. The media wanted to know why, says the lawyer from San Antonio who advises Mr Trumps national diversity coalition. Do you have access to a mirror? You realise youre black, right?

> What the hell do you have to lose?

Republican presidential candidates have often polled poorly among black voters. Even by those standards, Mr Trumps performance is woeful: in one poll, he attracted only one percent support from African Americans. A lot of black people werent sure about Trump, says Mr Childs, who criticises the candidate for some of his clumsy remarks, including his insistence that black voters have nothing to lose by backing his candidacy. Being a black person, its like, no, weve been slaves. Weve experienced a lot worse than this. But Mr Childs is willing to overlook the colourful rhetoric because he believes Mr Trump has the experience needed to revive the American economy. I think he can create jobs in America and we need them desperately, he says. The black community is disproportionately affected by high unemployment, low income, crime and poverty. So being a black person in America wanting to help the community get better, you have to focus on the economy.

I feel Mr Trump treats men and women the same.. hes an equal opportunities offender

The college\-educated woman

After securing his third primary victory, in Nevada, Mr Trump effusively thanked different groups of his supporters. He ticked off evangelicals, the young, the old and the highly educated. Then he came to the poorly educated. I love the poorly educated! he yelled. The feeling was mutual. Mr Trump has consistently performed best among white voters without college degrees while, according to the recent Washington Post\-ABC News poll, Mrs Clinton held a 23\-point lead among white college\-educated women.

> I think it is wonderful that a female has been nominated as a presidential candidate. Its unfortunate shes Hillary Clinton

But Delizia Gallivan, who has a masters in health administration as well as a college degree, bucks the trend. Ive been a supporter from day one, says the 43\-year\-old nurse from San Antonio, Texas. He is really bold in his statements and hes authentic. He has a strong personality and hed be a strong leader. She is not deterred by barbs Mr Trump has directed at women in the public eye, such as calling the businesswoman Ariana Huffington unattractive, both inside and out and questioning whether Megyn Kelly, a Fox News anchor, treated him harshly because she had blood coming out of her wherever. I feel Mr Trump treats men and women the same, she says. If someone says something about him, whether its a man or a woman, he is going to respond. Its been said hes an equal opportunities offender. Nor is she tempted to vote for Mrs Clinton simply to put a woman in the White House. I think it is wonderful that a female has been nominated as a presidential candidate, Ms Gallivan adds. Its unfortunate shes Hillary Clinton. Shes been in office 30 years and I cant really think of any accomplishments other than raising money for the Clinton Foundation. In the end, she says, it really doesnt matter about candidates gender: It matters what their values are and what they are going to do for the country.

It was a lot harder to come out as a gay conservative than come out as a gay man

The gay New Yorker

One year in, Christopher Roehrs is growing accustomed to the opprobrium. The 52\-year\-old corporate lawyer from New York has supported Mr Trump since he announced his candidacy but, as a gay man in a liberal city, has endured accusations of being a sellout. Socially, its the kiss of death, he explains, in his apartment overlooking the skyscrapers of Manhattan. If I run into openly gay folks and say Im a Trump supporter, Ill get nothing but disdain. The first thing theyre going to think is Im uneducated and if they realise I am educated, they probably just assume Im mentally unstable.

> I just dont feel good about it. I dont feel right about it.

It was a lot harder for me to come out of the closet as a gay conservative than it was to come out as a gay man. Some of his gay friends who support Mrs Clinton have begun blanking him; others keep their own support of Mr Trump secret. None of this has dampened his enthusiasm for the campaign. I love Trump, he declares, even though he holds a more nuanced view than the Republican candidate on immigration and does not support a border wall. He tells it like is, as trite as that is. I view him as very pragmatic. Based on the fact that hes a successful businessman, hell appoint the best people to the best positions. I think on balance Clinton says more pro\-gay things than Trump but I look at things holistically. If Trump said I think we should bury gays up to their heads in sand and stone them, that might be a deal breaker for me, but he doesnt. Mr Roehrs was particularly pleased when Mr Trump pledged to protect our LGBTQ citizens in his speech to the Republican convention following the mass shooting in a gay club in Orlando. I really appreciated that, he says.

I don't agree 110% with whatever he says... \(but\) I don't want to see anything happening to America

The Muslim immigrant

When Sajid Tarar came to America from Pakistan thirty years ago, he quickly fell under the spell of Ronald Reagan. We came here and bought an American dream, the 56\-year\-old says now. Buying an American dream and becoming successful is a Republican philosophy. The bow\-tie\-wearing businessman from Baltimore, who keeps a framed photograph of himself posing with George W Bush in his office, is now campaigning to put another Republican in the White House.

> People from war\-torn countries or where states are involved in terrorism \[should be banned\]

Still, as the founder of American Muslims for Trump, he agrees that he has an uphill battle on his hands. He claims to have about 4,000 sympathisers but has also received hateful emails calling him a traitor. It's tunnel vision, he says. They automatically think \[a Muslim\] will become a Democrat. On Mexicans, announcing his candidacy, June 2015. Surely, I ask, it cannot help that last December, following the Isil\-inspired attack in San Bernardino, California, Mr Trump called for a total and complete shutdown on all Muslims coming to America until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on? I dont agree 110 percent with whatever he says, explains Mr Tarar, who delivered a benediction at the Republican convention in Cleveland. First of all, banning all Muslims is not possible. Even so, he says, there should be a ban on people from war\-torn countries or where states are involved in terrorism. It has to be stopped, he adds. Im an American and Im a father of four kids who were born here. Theyre Americans and I don't want to see anything happening to America. Read more from [Tom Rowley](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/tom\-rowley/) Read more on the [US election](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us\-election/)