Comic Paul Rodriguez admits he's a Trump supporter: 'It's a terrible thing for me to say this. I will pay the price for it.'
Paul Rodriguez, a comedian from The Original Latin Kings of Comedy, shared a dirty secret as a Hollywood-er: He’s a “closet Republican” and a supporter of President Trump.
“I agree with a lot of the things he’s done,” the Mexican-born comic told TMZ earlier this week. Though he said the words Trump uses “offends a lot of us.”
As for which of Trump’s policies resonates with him most, he said, “America should protect its borders, you know? I know a lot of Mexican-Americans are going to disagree with me. It’s not that I don’t care about the people who obviously want to immigrate to this country, but you can’t let everybody in. I’m an immigrant myself. My parents came in the right way. They stood in line for days.”
He continued: “That’s very rare to find a Mexican-American who’s a Republican. At least people can look at me and know that it’s not that I don’t love this country. I’m an immigrant. I love this country.”
Rodriguez said he was expecting backlash over his comments.
“It’s a terrible thing for me to say this,” he admitted. “I will pay the price for it, but as long as we’re able to speak our minds, I think I should have the right to be wrong in your opinion.”
And while he also said that “any entertainer shouldn’t get into politics because half of the audience is going to hate you,” he broke his own rule — and his most Instagram was subsequently filled with hate comments about Trump. For instance:
“Please tell me you aren’t a trump supporter? If so time to unfollow.”
“One thing is being republican but another thing is being a trump supporter, I truly hope you’re not a trump supporter or you lost a fan.”
“F*** Donald Trump!!! & F*** YOU TOO!!”
Although Rodriguez is a Trump supporter, he said his vote in 2020 isn’t set. If Trump “says one more thing,” then the comedian said he is “really going to change” his vote.
Rodriguez wasn’t always a Republican, though. He was a Democrat and voted for Obama in 2008. However in 2012, he switched sides and supported presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, appearing in an ad for him expressing his disappointment in Obama.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: