Nelsie Parrado on why she was a ‘silent supporter’ of Donald Trump
‘Name-calling is unacceptable to me.’
Financial services professional Nelsie Parrado was one of legions of “silent supporters” who quietly delivered the votes for Donald Trump. They were a force largely undetected by pollsters and the media.
However, if the recount, initiated by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, overturns the Electoral College vote, Nelsie, 70, warned, “I will speak up.”
“I don’t know what they’re trying to do with the recount,” she said when interviewed by The FilAm. “They’re just trying to make the country more divisive.”
Nelsie said Trump’s so-called “silent supporters” proved to be a force to be reckoned with.
“There are ‘silent supporters,’” said Nelsie, who is president of the Handang Tumulong Foundation, Inc. and the UP Alumni Association of America. “I was one of them.”
“My pamangkin in Virginia, my former classmates, marami kami. Walang umiimik during the campaign. We were all so quiet,” she said.
In the beginning, she said she was open about her preference for the real estate mogul over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. But she was turned off by the Democrats’ alleged “name-calling.”
“When I say I’m for Trump some people would say, ‘What, are you crazy?’ That kind of name-calling is unacceptable to me,” she said.
She has stopped being vocal about her candidate after realizing, she said, that “the other side can be very combative.” She stressed she never lost a friendship because of the divisiveness of the campaign.
There were two issues Nelsie harbored about Clinton that made it difficult to vote for her: One is Benghazi, the other is a statement Clinton has said putting “half of Trump supporters into a basket of deplorables.” Clinton has since apologized, expressing her regret.
“No amount of apology will erase it,” said Nelsie. For the ‘undecideds’ she thought that statement proved to be pivotal to Clinton’s defeat.
As for Benghazi, she felt Clinton should be held accountable for the death of U.S. Ambassador to Libyan, another diplomat and CIA operatives in two days of attacks in 2012. The Republican Party has blamed Clinton for the deaths because she was Secretary of State at the time and is said to have denied request for additional security for the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi.
An official investigation conducted by the House has issued a report downplaying Clinton’s role.
Said Nelsie: “It happened during her watch. Whatever happened to ‘the buck stops here.’?”
A registered Republican, Nelsie said she is not averse to crossing party lines depending on circumstances.
“I voted for Clinton twice,” she said. “I will cross the line if I need to cross the line.”
Nelsie, who joined New York Life Insurance as an agent and was the first Filipina to become a member of the advisory council, believes the country should be run like a corporation.
“Coming from a business culture, I believe this country should be run like a business. There should be chairman, a president, and they should be accountable for everything that happens. They will be fired when they make mistakes.” That, in essence, was what attracted her to Trump: That he is a businessman and runs many successful companies.
Nelsie also voiced confidence in Vice President-Elect Mike Pence. “We not know what the future brings but if something happens (to Trump) we’re in good hands,” she said.
Nelsie came to the U.S. in 1984 on a Third-Preference employment visa. Her family would follow after one year. The Parrados live in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, among the Filipino pioneers in this Bergen County municipality.
“Fair lawn has the atmosphere of a small town with the ambience of a city,” said Nelsie. “It’s primarily a Jewish town with many temples and only one Catholic church.
I never felt discriminated here.”
She was a member of Fair Lawn’s Planning Board in early 2000 and is currently with the Board of Ethics.
Nelsie, (center) as president of Handang Tumulong Foundation, joins Deputy Consul General Kira Danganan-Azucena and community leaders at the opening of the Humanitarian Fundraising Fair to benefit ‘Project Disaster Response: Typhoon Nona.’ Photo by Lambert Parong/Balitang New York
Great website and I look forward to seeing it expand over time.
Thank you so much for providing a platform for individuals with different points of view.