Are Cuban Americans upset with Trump
Executive summary
Cuban Americans are not monolithic in their feelings toward President Trump: while many continue to back him — with FIU polling showing 68% support in Miami‑Dade in 2024 [1] — a growing and vocal strain of unease and anger has emerged in the community over deportations, unmet economic promises and aggressive foreign‑policy rhetoric toward the island [2] [3] [4]. The result is a politically fractured community that remains largely Republican but is increasingly conflicted and, in some quarters, openly critical of Trump’s actions [1] [4] [5].
1. The baseline: deep Republican affinity that helped elect Trump in 2024
A long history of anti‑Castro sentiment, support for maintaining the embargo and conservative priorities meant Cuban Americans were among Trump’s strongest backers in 2024, with Florida International University’s Cuba Poll reporting 68% of likely Cuban‑American voters in Miami‑Dade planned to vote for Trump — the highest recorded level on that series [1]. Analysts and community leaders continue to point to those historical and ideological ties as the primary explanation for why a large portion of the community remains aligned with the Republican Party and with Trump‑style policies [1].
2. The rupture: deportations and the erosion of a perceived safety net
That baseline support is being strained by immigration policy. Reporting documents a sharp increase in removals to Cuba — more than 1,600 repatriations in 2025 alone, roughly double the prior year and higher than recent predecessors — and the shock among longtime Cuban residents who believed they were protected from such enforcement [3]. Scholars and local observers describe “a growing amount of unease” as older exiles watch neighbors and even decades‑long residents face detention and removal, a shift that has prompted public alarm and private anger within the community [4] [3].
3. Broken promises on the economy and local grievances
For many Cuban Americans in Florida the decision in 2024 was driven less by Cuba policy and more by domestic economic concerns, and there is evidence of disappointment when those economic promises have not materialized; FIU’s survey leader told El País that after nine months Trump “hasn’t delivered on his promises to reinvigorate the economy,” a complaint heard in interviews from voters who supported him on economic grounds [2]. That sense of unfulfilled expectation feeds criticism that goes beyond immigration and foreign policy and chips away at previously automatic support [2].
4. Foreign‑policy bravado: some applaud it, others fear escalation
Trump’s confrontational posture toward Cuba and the region — from demanding Cuba “make a deal” or face consequences to boasting about cutting off Venezuelan oil shipments to the island — resonates with exiles who long favored a hard line on the regime, and plays into the influence of high‑profile Cuban‑American officials like Marco Rubio [6] [7] [8]. Yet the same aggressive rhetoric and military‑style interventions that embolden some also alarm others in the diaspora who fear destabilization, blowback or moral compromises, creating a split between those who welcome pressure on Havana and those who worry about the human costs and unpredictability [7] [8] [9].
5. Political calculus and a community in flux
Commentators and advocates map a community caught between traditional conservative loyalties and rising solidarity with migrants and deportation victims; some voices urge Cuban Americans to defend privilege and conservative policy, while others call for solidarity with newcomers and criticize the administration for undermining Cubans’ access to legal protections [5] [10]. The net picture from the available reporting is mixed: significant support for Trump remains [1], but substantive and growing pockets of anger and unease — particularly over deportations and broken economic expectations — mean many Cuban Americans are upset in ways that could reshape local politics if trends continue [3] [4] [2].