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| Donald Trump |
By Park Si-soo
The U.S. presidential race is becoming a one on one showdown between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton after the two scored decisive wins in make-or-break nomination contests in "Super Tuesday 2,"last week.
In this climate, Trump is under increasing pressure from conservative mainstreamers to drop ― or modify ― his aggressive attitude that has stirred controversy even within the conservative bloc and adopt a more generous approach to encourage millions of swinging voters and ethnic minorities.
Korean-Americans are one of these groups, comprising about 0.6 percent of the U.S. population, or around 1.7 million people.
It remains uncertain how Trump will appeal to them in the lead-up to the Nov. 8 presidential election. No matter what he does, however, it seems that it will not be easy for the real estate developer-turned-politician to win the hearts of Korean-Americans.
"I really don't give s**t about him. I'm not voting for him," said a voter with ethnic roots in Korea in an email interview with The Korea Times. Living in Los Angeles, she wanted to remain anonymous. "I still can't believe that there are so many ignorant U.S. citizens out here who support him … It makes me sad."
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Another Korean-American living in San Francisco echoed her view.
"I think any reasonable person with an ability to sustain basic life functions would be against Trump," he said. "He is a bold, smart man, exploiting the secret, unspoken, politically incorrect views that Caucasians must harbor against minorities. Otherwise, Trump would not have come this far."
He said Trump had "verbalized what most white Americans may feel but cannot and will not say in front of their minority friends and neighbors." He said that if Trump was elected, it would be an embarrassment to the U.S. as well as the world.
Erica Oh in New York called Trump's presidential bid "pure comedy."
"This presidential campaign is a gift to me. It's a pure comedy and I am entertained as hell," she said.
Another Korean American in Michigan called Trump a "business man" whose political ideas would only create more conflicts in and outside the U.S.
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