Hispanic Trump Surrogates Bailing Out After “Mass Deportation” Speech in Phoenix
By now it’s no secret that Donald Trump’s “outreach” to African Americans and Hispanics isn’t working; his poll numbers with these groups remain abysmally low. In the latest survey by Public Policy Polling, Trump’s approval rating among African Americans currently stands at approximately zero.
Yes, I said “zero.”
And after his extremist anti-immigration rant last night, even his own campaign’s few Latino surrogates are starting to admit Trump’s outreach effort is a scam.
Jacob Monty, a member of Trump’s National Hispanic Advisory Council, quickly resigned after the speech. Another member, Ramiro Pena, a Texas pastor, said Trump’s speech likely cost him the election and said he’d have to reconsider being part of a “scam.” And Alfonso Aguilar, the president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, said in an interview that he is “inclined” to pull his support.
“I was a strong supporter of Donald Trump when I believed he was going to address the immigration problem realistically and compassionately,” said Monty, a Houston attorney who has aggressively made the Latino case for Trump. “What I heard today was not realistic and not compassionate.”
He withdrew from the board following Trump’s speech in Phoenix, which was heavy on calls for border security and emphasized that all immigrants in the country illegally were subject to deportation.
Pena delivered a harsh condemnation in an email to senior Trump and Republican National Committee leaders, obtained by POLITICO.
“I am so sorry but I believe Mr. Trump lost the election tonight,” said Pena, a pastor at Waco’s Christ the King Church. “The ‘National Hispanic Advisory Council’ seems to be simply for optics and I do not have the time or energy for a scam.”
Of course, Trump did solidify his support among one demographic group: White Supremacists Absolutely Loved Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Speech in Phoenix.