Everyone is talking about what Joy Villa wore to the Grammy Awards: a dress designed purposefully to show support for President Trump.
Sometimes you just gotta be free to express yourself. ?✨? thank you to all of my supporters… https://t.co/08AGXxG5zy pic.twitter.com/S286YuONhE
— Joy Villa (@Joy_Villa) February 13, 2017
Reading “Make America Great Again” down the front and “TRUMP” across the train, the dress was made to attempt to create unity. In a Breitbart news interview, Villa stated she had felt like she couldn’t talk about her support for Trump because of her fear of being attacked. She was tired of feeling scared, and wanted to “start a conversation” with her attire.
But perhaps the most shocking part of this now viral moment was not Joy’s support for the President. Instead, many were stunned that her designer, Andre Soriano, is also a Trump supporter. He was more than happy to make this dress for Joy after hearing someone at the Women’s March in Washington say she wanted to “bomb the White House.”
What is most shocking, though, is that he is the opposite of a stereotypical Trump supporter.
Andre is an immigrant from the Philippines, yet is in full support of building the wall. On his website, Andre describes himself as a “Gay Rights Activist, Filipino Immigrant, Faithful Christian, and Trump Advocate.”
Andre also has put out a design campaign that has “MAGA” written on t-shirts, mugs, handbags and the like.
Andre voted for Trump despite experiencing peer pressure to vote otherwise. The diversity that he embodies should be considered on a larger scale.
Andre’s experience, along with Joy’s, is likely widespread. The fear Villa mentioned that initially kept her from speaking out could also be present in the lives of Trump supporters in other demographics and minorities.
Should we consider the possibility that President Trump has more minority support than the protests are leading us to believe? Remembering the polls that so incorrectly predicted the election results last fall, the idea may not be too far-fetched.
**Update 4/10/17 Watch a Bold TV interview with Villa below **
