Dear Editor,
In the end, it was not a photo finish in the American Presidential and Congressional Elections, as the polls had suggested; it was more like a blowout, as Donald Trump recaptured the Presidency that he lost to Joe Biden and the Democrats in 2020. In so doing, Trump has become only the second candidate (Grover Cleveland being the first in 1892, after his defeat in 1888) to make a Presidential comeback after a gap.
The question in everyone’s mind is: why did Kamala Harris lose so badly, after polls put the race neck and neck? And how did Guyanese (Indian and African), Indo-Caribbeans, and Caribbean people in general vote? What is their overall reaction to the results?
Trump gained traction among Indian Caribbean people, and even some Afro-Caribbean people who abandoned Harris. Those who voted Trump, including Democrats and Independents, are celebrating a victory. The Caribbean vote, the Indo-Guyanese, Indian Caribbean, South Asian Indian American votes were critical demographics in several swing states, and a must-win for both candidates to capture the Presidency. Trump did a better job appealing to Indians. Harris assumed she would get the Caribbean (Afros) and Indian American (under whom Indo-Caribbeans are grouped) votes, spending little time to appeal to them. That thought did not succeed at the polling booths.
Indo-Caribbeans and Indian Americans in general voted to punish the Democrats, similar to what happened in 2016 when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. Indian Americans reversed their vote in 2020, but did a political U-turn again in 2024. The Democrats did not do much to retain them, while Trump directly appealed for their votes. In particular, Trump appealed to Hindus to vote for him. He promised a Hindu Museum in Washington, and to end the genocide against Hindus in Bangladesh and other countries where Hindus are persecuted. That appeal worked magic in cornering a majority of the Hindu votes.
There are some six million Indian Americans in USA, the overwhelming majority being Hindus in key battleground states. The Indian Guyanese and Indian American vote impacted swing states of Pennsylvania and Georgia. Guyanese are small numbers in other swing states of North Carolina, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona. Large numbers of South Asian Indians reside in the seven swing states, and they went for Trump, abandoning Harris because of her failure to define her identity.
Trump ridiculed her for not defining who she is. Harris could not easily define her identity, as Obama did in 2008, and went on to win twice.
Harris signs decorated yards of Caribbean people in NY, Florida, Georgia, etc. and Trump signs and posters laced many Indo-Caribbean homes and vehicles. Many Guyanese sported Trump tee-shirts and Trump hats. They supported Trump not only in New York and New Jersey, but in Florida and other states. Trump got some half of the Indian votes and bigger numbers among South Asian Indian Americans. Many Indo-Caribbeans, Hindus in particular, decided to vote Trump at the last minute.
Naturally, Democratic voters are disappointed with the result, as they were confident of a victory. Most Guyanese (Indian, African, Mixed) are members of the Democratic Party. And so are almost all Caribbean people. Many Indian and Afro-Caribbean people donated funds to and campaigned for Harris. Some even volunteered to bring out the voters as they wanted Harris, a Caribbean American who has a Jamaican father, to win.
However, significant numbers of Indo-Caribbean voters and some other Caribbean people broke from their traditional party and cast ballots for Trump and the Republican slate on down ballot. Indo-Guyanese and other Indo-Caribbean people as well as Indian Americans (South Asians) in general were (are) dissatisfied with the Biden/Harris Administration. Most Afro-Caribbeans stuck with Harris, but some half of Indo-Caribbeans (including Indian Guyanese) went for Trump, an increase from a week ago.
Many voters who supported Biden/Harris in 2020, Caribbean Americans and Indo-Caribbeans included, were angry with the Biden Administration’s handling of the wars in Europe and Middle East, the issue of migrants, and the economy. Because of the wars, the price of goods appreciated considerably, hurting people’s pockets.
Biden and the Democrats got failing marks on all three issues, according to pre-election and exit polls. Biden also got poor approval ratings of 40%. Harris is tethered to Biden, affecting her poll numbers.
Crime was also a big issue for Indian Caribbean and Indian Americans in general. They blamed Biden for the wave of crimes of which they were victims, and those crimes were allegedly committed by Latin American migrants. Half of Indo-Caribbeans spurned Kamala Harris as well as the Democrats in down ballots because of crime that has affected their neighbourhoods in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.
Foreign policy towards Guyana was an issue for some Indian Guyanese. They feel Trump would better protect democracy in Guyana, as he did in 2020 during the attempt to rig the election. Several politicians in Guyana cheered and hoped for a Trump victory, confident they can influence a Trump Administration to protect their interests.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
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