Patriots: For over 26 years, your generosity has made it possible to offer The Patriot Post without a subscription fee to military personnel, students, and those with limited means. Please support the 2024 Year-End Campaign today.

October 31, 2024

A Pro-Trump Immigrant’s Story

“I’m a Republican. Already voted for Trump. I’m from a communist country. I see where this country is heading if people don’t wake up.”

After speaking in a pro-Trump town hall in Phoenix, I got up early the next morning to make a flight back to Los Angeles. I went down to the front of my hotel to get into a private car I ordered from a company that came highly recommended.

The shiny black SUV was waiting. The driver, a neatly dressed woman, bounded out to help me with my bag and to open the door. She had an eastern European accent. Her name was Dede. She asked why I was in town. I’m always leery to discuss politics, particularly in this era of Trump. But I know that many legal immigrants, particularly those from communist countries, are political conservatives.

“I’m with a conservative, Christian radio and television communications company, and spoke yesterday at a pro-Trump event for the listeners of our Phoenix radio station,” I said.

“Oh, I know who you are,” she said. “I’ve listened to you, and I’ve seen you many times on TV. That’s why I wanted to pick you up.”

For the next half hour, she told me about her life. She was born in Bulgaria, 58 years old, an only child, in her second marriage and “regrettably” has no children. Her parents’ family was well off, but lost everything “when the communists took over and took everything.” Her father died from a heart attack when she was 10. Her mother ran a government-controlled fruit stand.

Dede always wanted to come to America. She waited 15 years before getting a visa and then a green card. She was 36 when she came to America. She came to Phoenix because her uncle lives there and took her in until she got her own apartment.

“When I got here, I cleaned airplanes, went to my second job washing dishes and babysat for two to three hours,” she said. “Then I got up early the next morning and did it all over again. I couldn’t speak English and now people say I speak too much, especially about politics. But I don’t care. This is America and we have the First Amendment.”

She kept up that schedule for three years.

“Then I started my own company and bought my first car.”

“This is your car company?” I asked.

“Yes, I have 15 other SUVs and several drivers. And my husband and I have other investments.”

“Other investments?”

“Real estate,” she said. “We own 27 houses. My uncle said, ‘Work hard. Show up on time. Pay your taxes and don’t use credit cards.’ So, that’s what I did.

"And I’m a Republican. Already voted for Trump. I’m from a communist country. I see where this country is heading if people don’t wake up. It really isn’t about Republicans versus Democrats. The problem is people who want something for nothing and expect government to take care of them — and then complain if it doesn’t. And way too many people work for government. Just like communism.” She railed against the millions of illegal aliens “allowed to come in.”

I told her about my father who never knew his biological father.

“Unlike you,” I said, “he had a mother who, when he was 13, kicked him out of the room they rented. A black boy in the Jim Crow South at the beginning of the Great Depression with literally nothing in his pockets. He was an only child. He became a staff sergeant in the Marines and served in World War II. When I was growing up, my dad worked two full-time jobs cleaning toilets, and he cooked for a family on the weekends to make additional money because he wanted my mother to be a stay-at-home mom. He then went to night school to get a GED. He saved his nickels and dimes and at 47 started a cafe, which he ran until he was in his 80s. When he retired, he owned the cafe property and property next door, as well as the home I was raised in, which is still in our family.”

By now, we reached the airport. When she got out of the car, she was crying. “Your story is my story,” she said. We hugged.

“God bless you,” I said.

“And God bless America,” she said. We hugged again.

COPYRIGHT 2024 LAURENCE A. ELDER

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.