Hispanic Republicans Abandon Donald Trump After Offensive Speech
Trump’s dangerous and divisive speech in Phoenix is not being well-received at all — particularly among Hispanic Republicans. His hateful rhetoric clearly has no place in the White House.
CNN: (Former Trump Supporter Alfonso Aguilar): I was totally disappointed, not surprised, but disappointed, and slightly misled, because he gave the impression and the campaign gave the impression until yesterday morning that he was going to deal with the undocumented in a compassionate way. And in that speech, he’s basically saying, we deport you or we self-deport you. It’s even worse than what he initially proposed, so today I’m saying, not only am I not — I’m considering withdrawing my support, I’m telling you today, I’m withdrawing my support from Donald Trump, and it’s not only me. Many like me think the same way.
MSNBC: (Former Trump supporter Jacob Monty): “Well, there was so much anticipation building up to this speech. We had met with him a week and a half ago, he appeared to be ready to announce a pro-business compassionate Republican solution to the immigration problem and we were hoping for some glimmer of the Donald Trump we met with a week and a half ago but it never came…We thought he heard us, he was taking notes, there was back and forth and he comes out with the speech…it was very disappointing. There was nothing pro-business in the speech last night. After I heard that, there was no way I could continue to be part of a prop apparatus for Mr. Trump so I resigned.”
NBC: To presidential politics and big backlash for Donald Trump from some of his biggest Latino supporters who say now they feel misled and betrayed after Trump indicated he was perhaps softening on some of his immigration stances only to come out swinging last night,calling for a major immigration crackdown…I think the Latino community is completely unavailable to Donald Trump because of his language not just on this issue, but I think he does speak a language of intolerance.
Washington Post: Hispanic supporters flee Donald Trump’s campaign after fiery immigration speech
Donald Trump’s meeting with his Hispanic advisory council a couple of weeks ago left its members so excited that some even told reporters that Trump was about to significantly soften his approach to illegal immigration and maybe even embrace a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants.
Those advisers got a reality check Wednesday night, when Trump gave arguably his toughest speech on illegal immigration yet — promising a large-scale crackdown and saying that every undocumented immigrant is subject to deportation.
Now some of these Trump advisers, along with leading Hispanic Republicans who had been giving Trump a second look over the last two weeks, are renouncing him — and there are signs many more may follow.
New York Times: ‘He Used Us as Props’: Conservative Hispanics Deplore Donald Trump’s Speech
Donald J. Trump faced a backlash on Thursday from some of his top conservative Hispanic supporters who said their hopes that he was softening his immigration policy were dashed by his fiery speech Wednesday night, which they said was anti-immigrant.
“There was so much hope,” said Jacob Monty, a member of the Hispanic advisory council who was at the meeting with Mr. Trump. “He used us as props.”
Huffington Post: Trump’s Hispanic Advisers Ditch Him Over Hard-Right Immigration Plan
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is quickly losing some of his Hispanic advisers and supporters after a hardline anti-undocumented immigrant speech on Wednesday.
Jacob Monty, an immigration lawyer based in Houston, withdrew his support, and at least two other members of Trump’s National Hispanic Advisory Council have followed suit.
Monty said Trump’s speech made him question whether the businessman even wants to win.
The Atlantic: Donald Trump’s Immigration Speech Backfires Among Hispanic Republicans
Donald Trump’s hard turn on immigration in a speech in Arizona on Wednesday has sparked a sense of betrayal among members of his Hispanic Advisory Council, who had hoped to see a more compassionate approach to immigration.
Former Trump Hispanic Adviser and a member of the council Jacob Monty resigned shortly after the Arizona speech. “I was a strong supporter of Donald Trump when I believed he was going to address the immigration problem realistically and compassionately,” he said, according to Politico. “What I heard today was not realistic and not compassionate.”
Fox News Latino: Trump Latino surrogates and backers withdraw support following immigration speech
Many of them stood firm, at least in public, in their support for Donald Trump, despite criticism from other Latinos who called them sellouts, or worse.
Many responded that Trump was sure to soften his stance on immigration, and back off remarks he had made since he launched his campaign in 2015 that drew the ire of a vast number of Latinos, if polls were any indication.
But Trump’s 90-minute speech Wednesday night offering more details than he had previously shared on his plan to reform the immigration system made some of his most high-profile Latino supporters and surrogates recoil — some already have dropped their support or indicated that they are considering doing so.
Buzzfeed: Top Hispanic Pastor Won’t Join Trump’s Advisory Council After Immigration Speech
One of the most influential Hispanic pastors in the nation has informed the RNC that he will not endorse or be a part of Donald Trump’s Hispanic advisory council after a fiery Arizona immigration speech, that already claimed five supporters who were part of the council.
Mark Gonzales, who founded both the Hispanic Prayer Network and the Hispanic Action Network, which counts thousands of Latino evangelical churches as members, sent a text to the RNC Wednesday night after Trump had doubled down on his hardline stances of deportations and avoiding a softening of his plan that he and advisors had floated in the days before the speech.
“I texted them just to be official that I would not be giving an endorsement and serving on the council was out of the question,” Gonzales told BuzzFeed News.
