Jose Peralta delivers Dominican food with a side of Trump support to Bushwick customers.
Posted on 02/24/2017 11:21:33 AM PST by Oratam
He'll bring pernil, platano and a pro-Trump message right to your doorstep.
Jose Peralta, a deliveryman for the Bushwick Dominican restaurant Alex Luncheonette, is so into making America great again that customers in the neighborhood are calling him "The Trump Guy."
He comes to work at the Knickerbocker Avenue eatery each day with his fire engine-red Trump baseball cap and a pin from the president's campaign. The battered Toyota Corolla he zips around the neighborhood in is plastered with bumper stickers for Trump and the far-right website InfoWars.
"They tell me I was the only one in Brooklyn that supported Trump," he said. "I'm one of the few who have the courage to express themselves."
Peralta, 40, who moved to the city from the Dominican Republic as a child, said he was swayed to Trump's camp with promises of economic growth, jobs and leadership from someone outside the political establishment.
He knows he's not about to convince Bushwick residents, who voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton, to back their president. Instead, he wants to inspire them to talk about the issues.
"Just to socialize, just to communicate with my neighborhood, to start a conversation," he said. "This made it possible to start that conversation, then we can talk about the economy, jobs."
Seeing a delivery guy roll up with his Trump admiration so proudly on display earns mixed reactions, and some people he serves even call him crazy.
"They dig in their heels. These are the ones, they don't see the good, they only see the negative," Peralta said, adding he that relays pro-Trump news — sharing, for example, how the Japanese company SoftBank pledged to invest $50 billion in the U.S. and bring 50,000 jobs.
"It's going to be a long eight years for them," he said about those who don't share his optimism.
Others have admitted they, too, agree with some of Trump's ideas, he said.
Javier Rodriguez, a manager at Alex Luncheonette whose family has run the business for the last 21 years, said they don't endorse Peralta's political beliefs, but feel he has the right to express them.
"Everyone has the right to choose, whether I agree with it or not," Rodriguez, 32, said. "That's what our country is founded on."
When asked about the derogatory words Trump has used to describe Mexicans, women and other groups, Peralta concedes maybe his idol is a little harsh.
"I think he should maybe word it differently," he said. "The language might be inappropriate."
As he dropped off an order on Starr Street Tuesday afternoon, passersby stopped to chat with him — proof that if Peralta's goal is to start conversations, it's working.
"I respect you for wearing that hat," a passerby said. "It's hard to have your own opinion."
It would be great if there was a website which identified conservative businesses or pro-Trump businesses so we could only support businesses whose owners we agree with.
Good for him. Sadly, there will be a boycott of that luncheonette with demands to fire him soon.
Where is this?
Brooklyn
I was expecting to read that in the article but there’s only respect for his courage from the folks quoted. Perhaps being Dominican buys him a pass. He sounds intelligent and I think the people who know him can’t fall back on the usual knee-jerk responses.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.