A small sign sits in the shadows of a lending library Mariano Rodriguez built in his front yard.
The library is popular with Rodriguezβs neighbors; books disappear and reappear daily. Dozens of people have written in the guest book, thanking him for taking the time to build the tiny library.
The adjacent political sign, however, has been attacked twice in the last two weeks. One time Rodriguez chased down a teenage girl who almost succeeded in stealing it.
It seems not everyone agrees with Rodriguez that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will make America great again.
LIFELONG REPUBLICAN
It was the balloons. One of Rodriguezβs first political memories was watching a sea of balloons fall from the ceiling at the 1972 Republican National Convention.
With handfuls of popcorn and slices of pizza, he sat glued to the TV screen as the GOP nominated Richard Nixon. Rodriguez, then 9, had just moved from Mexico City to live with an aunt and uncle in Indiana to attend better schools.
βIt was cool,β he says.
And very different from his expectations of presidential power.
βComing from Mexico, everyone is like, βYeah, what is he going to change?ββ
That was certainly the feeling in his own family back in Mexico. Rodriguez remembers his father voting in elections there before the move, but he was largely apathetic.
In the Midwest, Rodriguez was raised on Republican values β rooting for GOP candidates until he was old enough to vote for them himself.
It was one of his first acts after becoming a permanent resident.
βOnce I got my green card,β he says, βI went out and signed up for the Republican Party.β
FIRST A FAN,
NOW A SUPPORTER
Rodriguezβs earliest memories of Trump go all the way back to the 1980s, mostly in the form of news reports he read while in college.
An architect, he was drawn to Trumpβs success as a real estate developer, although he also remembers the flashy, tabloid headlines about Trumpβs love life, specifically two high-profile divorces.
The story of Trumpβs father giving him a relatively small amount to start his career β a story that has been disputed β also appealed to the Mexican immigrant.
Roughly 10 to 15 years ago, Rodriguez said he remembers the announcer pointing out before a University of Arizona basketball game that Trump was in the crowd.
βI donβt think there has a been a year I havenβt heard about Trump,β Rodriguez says.
That includes Trumpβs reality television shows, βThe Apprenticeβ and βCelebrity Apprentice,β which Rodriguez regularly watched.
With the season-long competitions and the celebrity appearances, Rodriguez says, he saw Trump lay the groundwork for an eventual run for president.
βI donβt think at first he was serious. But I think finally after all these years and following his show, I think he was gearing up for this.β
MAKING AMERICA
GREAT AGAIN
Rodriguezβs decision to back Trump is fueled by his frustration with politics as usual, with elected officials promising change and then doing nothing. The Great Recession nearly forced him to close his business. Some of his friends were not so lucky.
βFour years ago we almost lost our house because the economy was in shambles,β he says. βA lot my friends closed shop and went to work for somebody else.β
He believes Trump can do what President Obama failed to do in eight years.
βIf we can get back to what this country is supposed to be β a number-one power, respected, plenty of jobs, plenty of progress β that is what making America great again means to me,β he says.
In particular, he faults Obama for the Affordable Care Act.
βI donβt think Obama did a lot of the stuff he promised,β he says. βHis health care was the biggest one. ... It was a promise that was not fulfilled.β
DEFENDING
TRUMPβS STANCE
In Rodriguezβs eyes, Trump has been treated poorly by the press and by the Republican Party establishment.
He notes that former presidential candidate Mitt Romneyβs negative comments about the billionaire only strengthened his support.
When he cast a ballot for Romney four years ago, βit was a waste of a vote,β he says.
He believes Trumpβs critics often hold him to a double standard. For example, Trump is criticized for hiring undocumented workers on a construction project. But several congressional offices have proudly hired undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children, part of the group known as βDreamers.β
βSo what is the difference?β he asks. βThe government is doing it too.β
Rodriguez, who immigrated legally to the U.S. when he was 9, supports Trumpβs pledge to build a massive wall along the Mexican border.
He considers Trumpβs comments comparing illegal immigrants to βrapistsβ inflammatory, but he believes the candidate has a point.
βThe people that are coming here illegally, they are not the people who are working for Raytheon or have good, high-paying jobs,β he says. βThese are the people who are coming in and trying to get any job they can. And among those, you are going to get some very bad people.β
He does, however, disagree with Trump on refugees from Iraq and Syria.
βI donβt agree that we shouldnβt let them come in here, but they should be a little better vetted,β he says.
The process for his family to immigrate from Mexico took months. Now it could take years.
Rodriguez believes part of Trumpβs campaign strategy is to make controversial statements that attract attention from what once was a crowded field of Republican candidates.
βI think some of it is to attract people to his presidency,β he says.
WEIGHING THE FIELD
A year ago, Rodriguez was undecided about which candidate he would support. He thought Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, was interesting, as well as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.
When Fiorina ended her campaign, he was disappointed but not surprised.
βI donβt think the GOP is ready for a woman president,β he says. βI liked her. I liked her views.β
Trump is being attacked from all sides, but that isnβt unusual in a presidential campaign, Rodriguez says. Campaigns βare always going to focus on the negative.β
The GOP establishment, he says, fears Trump.
βThey are not 100 percent sure what he is going to do,β Rodriguez says.
Despite the problems with his yard sign, Rodriguez says he has been surprised by the number of friends who also are supporting Trump.
βIt all has been kinda positive, which has been surprising,β he says.
Walking out to the library with his wife, Andrea, he pulls out the guest book that has been signed by neighbors who appreciate the tiny library.
On page after page, people thank him for building and stocking the library.
On the last two pages, the comments are still mostly about the books β although several people say they like his literary and his political choices.
One of his Trump books he put in the library is apparently on loan, hopefully helping another person decide who to vote for in the stateβs Presidential Preference Election.
