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Hispanic leaders want GOP field to condemn Trump's 'idiocy'
Jul 3, 11:51 AM (ET)
By STEVE PEOPLES
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hispanic leaders are bristling at the largely tepid response by Republican presidential candidates to Donald Trump's characterization of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers.
Several 2016 contenders have brushed off Trump's comments while others have ignored them. Marco Rubio, a Florida senator who is Hispanic, denounced them as "not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive," after declining for two weeks to address the matter directly. Another Hispanic in the race, Ted Cruz, said Trump is "terrific," "brash" and "speaks the truth."
It's an uncomfortable moment for Republicans, who want more votes from the surging Latino population.
And it could be a costly moment if more candidates don't go beyond their Donald-will-be-Donald response and condemn him directly, said Alfonso Aguilar, a Republican who leads the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership.
"The time has come for the candidates to distance themselves from Trump and call his comments what they are: ludicrous, baseless and insulting," said Alfonso Aguilar, a Republican who leads the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership. "Sadly, it hurts the party with Hispanic voters. It's a level of idiocy I haven't seen in a long time."
So far, Trump has paid less of a political price than a commercial one.
The leading Hispanic television network, Univision, has backed out of televising the Miss USA pageant, a joint venture between Trump and NBC, which also cut ties with Trump. On Wednesday, the Macy's department store chain, which carried a Donald Trump menswear line, said it was ending its relationship with him. Other retailers are facing pressure to follow suit.
In his speech last month marking his entry into the Republican race, Trump said Mexican immigrants are "bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
The businessman has refused to back down, although he insists his remarks were misconstrued.
"My statements have been contorted to seem racist and discriminatory," he wrote in a message to supporters on Thursday. "What I want is for legal immigrants to not be unfairly punished because others are coming into America illegally, flooding the labor market and not paying taxes." His original comments, though, did not make a distinction between Mexicans who came to U.S. legally and those here illegally.
His rhetoric may resonate with some of the Republican Party's most passionate voters, who have long viewed illegal immigration as one of the nation's most pressing problems. But the 2016 contest brings opportunity for the party to make inroads with Hispanics, with several Latino candidates and a former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, who has deep Latino ties and speaks Spanish and hasn't been shy about using it in the campaign.
Even so, Bush has said little more about Trump's comments than that they were "wrong."
"Maybe we'll have a chance to have an honest discussion about it onstage," Bush said last weekend while campaigning in Nevada, referring to Republican presidential debates.
Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, is paying keen attention to how the candidates respond to Trump's "xenophobic rhetoric."
"We're listening very, very closely, not just what candidates say but what they don't say — the sins of commission and the sins of omission," he said.
Among 2016 contenders:
—New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Trump's comments "wholly inappropriate." But in a subsequent radio interview, he said Trump is "a really wonderful guy (who's) always been a good friend."
—Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said: "I don't think Donald Trump's remarks reflect the Republican Party."
—Cruz said he likes Trump and thinks NBC "is engaging in political correctness" in breaking ties with him.
—Rubio said the next president "needs to be someone who brings Americans together — not someone who continues to divide."
—Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former technology executive Carly Fiorina and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson have been silent.
Not since the 2004 re-election campaign of President George W. Bush has a Republican presidential candidate earned as much as 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. Mitt Romney got a dismal 27 percent in the 2012 contest against President Barack Obama.
---
Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Washington, Hillel Italie in New York and Jill Colvin in Ashland, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20150703/us--gop_2016-trump-b64cdfbd48.html
By STEVE PEOPLES
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hispanic leaders are bristling at the largely tepid response by Republican presidential candidates to Donald Trump's characterization of Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers.
Several 2016 contenders have brushed off Trump's comments while others have ignored them. Marco Rubio, a Florida senator who is Hispanic, denounced them as "not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive," after declining for two weeks to address the matter directly. Another Hispanic in the race, Ted Cruz, said Trump is "terrific," "brash" and "speaks the truth."
It's an uncomfortable moment for Republicans, who want more votes from the surging Latino population.
And it could be a costly moment if more candidates don't go beyond their Donald-will-be-Donald response and condemn him directly, said Alfonso Aguilar, a Republican who leads the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership.
"The time has come for the candidates to distance themselves from Trump and call his comments what they are: ludicrous, baseless and insulting," said Alfonso Aguilar, a Republican who leads the American Principles Project's Latino Partnership. "Sadly, it hurts the party with Hispanic voters. It's a level of idiocy I haven't seen in a long time."
So far, Trump has paid less of a political price than a commercial one.
The leading Hispanic television network, Univision, has backed out of televising the Miss USA pageant, a joint venture between Trump and NBC, which also cut ties with Trump. On Wednesday, the Macy's department store chain, which carried a Donald Trump menswear line, said it was ending its relationship with him. Other retailers are facing pressure to follow suit.
In his speech last month marking his entry into the Republican race, Trump said Mexican immigrants are "bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
The businessman has refused to back down, although he insists his remarks were misconstrued.
"My statements have been contorted to seem racist and discriminatory," he wrote in a message to supporters on Thursday. "What I want is for legal immigrants to not be unfairly punished because others are coming into America illegally, flooding the labor market and not paying taxes." His original comments, though, did not make a distinction between Mexicans who came to U.S. legally and those here illegally.
His rhetoric may resonate with some of the Republican Party's most passionate voters, who have long viewed illegal immigration as one of the nation's most pressing problems. But the 2016 contest brings opportunity for the party to make inroads with Hispanics, with several Latino candidates and a former Florida governor, Jeb Bush, who has deep Latino ties and speaks Spanish and hasn't been shy about using it in the campaign.
Even so, Bush has said little more about Trump's comments than that they were "wrong."
"Maybe we'll have a chance to have an honest discussion about it onstage," Bush said last weekend while campaigning in Nevada, referring to Republican presidential debates.
Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, is paying keen attention to how the candidates respond to Trump's "xenophobic rhetoric."
"We're listening very, very closely, not just what candidates say but what they don't say — the sins of commission and the sins of omission," he said.
Among 2016 contenders:
—New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Trump's comments "wholly inappropriate." But in a subsequent radio interview, he said Trump is "a really wonderful guy (who's) always been a good friend."
—Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said: "I don't think Donald Trump's remarks reflect the Republican Party."
—Cruz said he likes Trump and thinks NBC "is engaging in political correctness" in breaking ties with him.
—Rubio said the next president "needs to be someone who brings Americans together — not someone who continues to divide."
—Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former technology executive Carly Fiorina and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson have been silent.
Not since the 2004 re-election campaign of President George W. Bush has a Republican presidential candidate earned as much as 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. Mitt Romney got a dismal 27 percent in the 2012 contest against President Barack Obama.
---
Associated Press writers Ken Thomas in Washington, Hillel Italie in New York and Jill Colvin in Ashland, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
http://apnews.myway.com//article/20150703/us--gop_2016-trump-b64cdfbd48.html
When hispanic leaders start telling the truth and start acting like Americans then I will denounce Trump. They call for open boarders, call for citizenship for all illegal aliens and back La Raza (La Raza means "The Race", they also have ties to MS-13).
I thought the original post was also about the GOP and Hispanic voters. Cruz is mentioned in the original article and has been most firmly in lockstep with Trump. Palin, Cruz, and Trump are all shiny examples of extreme rhetoric and positions that will do the Republicans no good next year at the polls. I thought it a legitimate segue since a lot of threads here go much farther afield.
I stand corrected and will limit my observations to the silliness of Trump's hair.
I stand corrected and will limit my observations to the silliness of Trump's hair.
The original post was about Donald Trump, not Ted Cruz...
http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/03/419256802/a-conservative-firebrand-from-the-start-ted-cruz-always-had-a-plan
".....As a Hispanic, by nature and by birth, you would think the Hispanics would be attracted by that," said Wilkerson. "But I think there's something there that hadn't clicked. And I think that could be a problem for him."
It's a tension that feels especially pronounced in Cruz's hometown of Houston, which is more than 40 percent Hispanic.
Houston is no longer the city of oil rig workers. This massive, sprawling metropolis is now home to one of the most racially diverse populations in the country. Drive just 10 minutes outside Cruz's old high school, and you'll find streets lined with Indian clothing shops, Middle Eastern food stores and Guatemalan eateries.
The sheltered pocket where Cruz grew up bumps right up against the city of immigrants Houston has become. And many in these parts struggle to call Cruz their hometown hero — especially in a Latino neighborhood called Aldine. Near the airport, it's one of the poorest communities in Houston.
"He's just so — I don't know how you say this in English — humilde. He's not a humble person to want to help people who actually need help," said Nancy Yanes. She says her parents came to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador 30 years ago, and she doesn't like that Cruz opposes a path to citizenship for people like her parents.
"You might be from Houston, but it doesn't really seem like you care about the people in Texas, in Houston," Yanes said......"
This is another example of the disconnect of the 1%er GOP leadership from reality and voters, depending entirely on poorly constructed polls they don't really understand.
There is a widespread view both among Cuban Americans themselves and other 'Hispanics' (Mexicans, Central Americans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans) that a lot of Cuban Americans consider themselves Castillian Spanish / White. Nobody but insulated, white, conservatives view Cruz as 'Hispanic.
This is the same disconnect that caused them to nominate Palin when they already had a lock on the anti-Obama demographic.
".....As a Hispanic, by nature and by birth, you would think the Hispanics would be attracted by that," said Wilkerson. "But I think there's something there that hadn't clicked. And I think that could be a problem for him."
It's a tension that feels especially pronounced in Cruz's hometown of Houston, which is more than 40 percent Hispanic.
Houston is no longer the city of oil rig workers. This massive, sprawling metropolis is now home to one of the most racially diverse populations in the country. Drive just 10 minutes outside Cruz's old high school, and you'll find streets lined with Indian clothing shops, Middle Eastern food stores and Guatemalan eateries.
The sheltered pocket where Cruz grew up bumps right up against the city of immigrants Houston has become. And many in these parts struggle to call Cruz their hometown hero — especially in a Latino neighborhood called Aldine. Near the airport, it's one of the poorest communities in Houston.
"He's just so — I don't know how you say this in English — humilde. He's not a humble person to want to help people who actually need help," said Nancy Yanes. She says her parents came to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador 30 years ago, and she doesn't like that Cruz opposes a path to citizenship for people like her parents.
"You might be from Houston, but it doesn't really seem like you care about the people in Texas, in Houston," Yanes said......"
This is another example of the disconnect of the 1%er GOP leadership from reality and voters, depending entirely on poorly constructed polls they don't really understand.
There is a widespread view both among Cuban Americans themselves and other 'Hispanics' (Mexicans, Central Americans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans) that a lot of Cuban Americans consider themselves Castillian Spanish / White. Nobody but insulated, white, conservatives view Cruz as 'Hispanic.
This is the same disconnect that caused them to nominate Palin when they already had a lock on the anti-Obama demographic.
I’m not a fan of Trump, but I doubt there’s a candidate looking forward to debating him.
I keep thinking he needs to be shunned, as well. I think the idea that Hispanic leaders are looking for some drastic reaction from other Republican candidates is a little "out there". I think most of them have said Trump was out of line; I'm not sure what else they can do... others are not responsible for his big mouth and they should not be forced to answer for him.
I don't like Jeb Bush, but I think he was right, that perhaps there would be discussion of it during debates.
I don't like Jeb Bush, but I think he was right, that perhaps there would be discussion of it during debates.
In all truth, I'm shocked he has anyone even listening to him. It's amazing to me that he's been successful in business because he is a faux pas disaster! Who says the things he does? And he won't back down!
I think he is an immense distraction at this point and the Republicans need to shun him so that we can work on finding a decent candidate to make an attempt at being elected.
I think he is an immense distraction at this point and the Republicans need to shun him so that we can work on finding a decent candidate to make an attempt at being elected.
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