Donald Trump: “I'm Going To Win The Hispanics”

At Pennsylvania Rally Trump Says He Will Win Hispanic Vote Because He Won Nevada Caucuses. During an April 25 rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said he would “win the Hispanics” in a general election, citing as proof his win in the Nevada Republican caucuses:

DONALD TRUMP: Not only we're going to unify the Republican party, but we have a tremendously divided country, white and black, everything we have young and old. Everybody is at odds. You look at the African-American population of this country. Youth, African-American youth has a 59 percent rate of unemployment. 59 percent. You look at African-American people it's substantially higher. There is tremendous division because Obama is a tremendous divider. He divides and he's done nothing for African-American people I will tell you that. And I'm going to win the African-American vote. And I'm going to win the Hispanic vote. And every poll, you look at the poll in Nevada, the poll -- big Hispanic population. I won the state of Nevada, very easily, in a landslide. Cruz was supposed to win, I win all these states. He can't win when people have to vote. He can't win. So here's the story. I win it. And they do an exit poll of the Hispanics. And who wins the exit poll by a lot? Donald Trump. You know why? So I'm going to win the Hispanics. I'm going to win the African-Americans. You know why? Because I'm bringing jobs back to our country and I'm not letting the jobs that are here go without consequence. [CSPAN.org, 4/25/16]

Media Point To Data Demonstrating Trump's Lack Of Latino Support

Miami Herald: “Donald Trump Says Hispanics Love Him. Survey Says: Wrong!” In an April 26 article in the Miami Herald, Fabiola Santiago pointed to recent polling data that disproves Trump's claim that “The Hispanics love” him. According to Santiago, “it’s simply not true that [Hispanics] like Trump,” since polling indicates that “73 percent of Hispanic voters say they view the Republican presidential front-runner unfavorably”:

Despite the hoopla over a freakish figure in Nevada — that Trump won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to exit polls — most polling of Latinos nationwide shows we can’t stand The Donald. Still, in a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump insists: “That was the single greatest vote ever cast for President Trump!”

But here’s a reality check: A nationwide survey by Latino Decisions of registered Hispanic voters finds that 87 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Trump. In a poll by the Washington Post and Univision, 8 out of 10 Latinos viewed Trump unfavorably. And Trump calls the media dishonest?

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No matter what you call us, Hispanics or Latinos, or our geography, it’s simply not true that we like Trump. In Florida, where Cuban-Americans are more conservative than other Latinos, a whopping 73 percent of Hispanic voters say they view the Republican presidential front-runner unfavorably. Another 11 percent view him “somewhat unfavorably."

So which Hispanics love him?

A tiny minority of 9 percent nationwide and 16 percent in Florida.

Most think Trump is toxic and is pushing the Republican Party in the wrong direction. Why does it matter? Because against Hillary Clinton, Trump would lose Florida’s Hispanic vote in nothing short of an embarrassing smack-down — 69 percent to 18, according to the poll conducted by the political research group Latino Decisions and commissioned by the pro-immigration reform group America’s Voice.

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And about that “greatest vote ever” for Trump in Nevada, it was only a tiny subset of Latinos — 8 percent of Republicans voting in the caucus. The Trump claim that he’s “No.1 with Hispanics” is based on 125 Republicans.” [Miami Herald, 4/27/16]

Univision’s Enrique Acevedo: Republican Anti-Immigrant Sentiment Miht Be Inspiring Latinos To Vote Against Trump. In an April 26 Fusion article, Univision's late night news anchor Enrique Acevedo pointed to statistics that show that Republican anti-immigrant policies have energized the Latino electorate. Acevedo compared current Latino registration rates to the historic 1996 Hispanic electorate turnout, in which Latino voters united and turned out to defeat the anti-immigrant Proposition 187 in California saying, “if 1996 sparked the Latino political revolution, 2016 will mark its fastest spread across the country as a record number of Latinos seek citizenship and register to vote against Trump”:

Over the past two decades the Latino vote has grown into an influential force in presidential politics. Now, millions of new voters are showing up at the polls, driven to a great extent by the anti-immigrant sentiments espoused by Republicans.

Back in 1996 an unprecedented 72% of Latinos voted to reelect Bill Clinton over Republican candidate Bob Dole. It was a race that marked the birth of the modern-day Hispanic electorate. Clinton’s edge was propelled by opposing an anti-immigration ballot initiative in California known as the “Save Our State,” or Proposition 187.

The California ballot measure, supported by Republican Governor Pete Wilson, denied services such as public education and healthcare to undocumented immigrants.



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More than a decade later Republicans still didn’t get it—or were simply too timid to stand up against the most reactionary elements of GOP, such as the Tea Party crowd. Between 2010 and 2011, Republican-controlled state legislatures around the country approved more than 160 anti-immigration laws, including the infamous SB-1070 in Arizona and Alabama’s HB 56, which racially profiles undocumented immigrants.

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Trump kicked off his campaign last June by blasting Mexican immigrants as drug-traffickers and rapists, calling for mass deportations and the construction of a “beautiful” wall across the U.S.-Mexico border paid by the Mexican government. Trump’s campaign recently outlined it would pressure the Mexican government into paying for its ridiculous plan by preventing undocumented immigrants in the United States from sending money back home to their families.

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If 1996 sparked the Latino political revolution, 2016 will mark its fastest spread across the country as a record number of Latinos seek citizenship and register to vote against Trump.

According to the New York Times, naturalization applications increased by more than 10% last year. A new poll released last week by America’s Voice and Latino Decisions found that 48% of Latinos are more enthusiastic about voting this year than they were in 2012, and 41% said their enthusiasm is driven by their opposition to Trump.The latest Univision Washington Post poll revealed 8 out of every 10 Latino voters have an unfavorable opinion of Trump.

To Hispanic America, Trump is the new Proposition 187.More than 13 million Latino voters are expected to cast their ballots in November. Latinos could decide key races in states like Florida, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia.

Still, Republicans insist on swimming against the current, even after their own post-2012 autopsy urged them to alter course.

Make no mistake, Latinos will come out to vote in record numbers in November. And their vote will prove, once again, that in this new American reality no one can get the White House without a broad and diverse coalition that includes Latino voters. [Fusion, 4/26/16]

The New York Times: More Latinos Seeking Naturalization In Order To Vote Against Donald Trump. In a March 7 NY Times report, Julia Preston explained that the record number of naturalization applications this year may be tied to the fact that many Mexicans “‘want to vote so Donald Trump won’t win’.” Preston noted “naturalization applications increased by 11 percent in the 2015 fiscal year over the year before, and jumped 14 percent during the six months ending in January”:

Over all, naturalization applications increased by 11 percent in the 2015 fiscal year over the year before, and jumped 14 percent during the six months ending in January, according to federal figures. The pace is picking up by the week, advocates say, and they estimate applications could approach one million in 2016, about 200,000 more than the average in recent years.



“While naturalizations generally rise during presidential election years, Mr. Trump provided an extra boost this year. He began his campaign in June describing Mexicans as drug-traffickers and rapists. His pledge to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it has been a regular applause line. He has vowed to create a deportation force to expel the estimated 11 million immigrants here illegally, evoking mass roundups of the 1950s.



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“People who are eligible are really feeling the urgency to get out there,” said Tara Raghuveer, deputy director of the National Partnership for New Americans, a coalition that helped put on the workshop in Denver. “They are worried by the prospect that someone who is running for president has said hateful things.”



Mr. Trump says he is confident Latinos will support him, because he has employed many thousands of them over the years. ‘I’m just telling you that I will do really well with Hispanics,’ he said in the Republican debate in Houston on Feb. 26.



But in a poll of Latino voters on Feb. 25 by The Washington Post and Univision, the Spanish language television network, 80 percent had an unfavorable view of Mr. Trump, including 72 percent with a very unfavorable view, far more than for other Republican candidates.” [The New York Times, 3/7/16]

Washington Post: Lack Of Latino Support Is One Of The Trump Campaign’s Biggest Problems. In an April 25 opinion article Washington Post’s Michael Gerson criticized attempts by the Trump campaign to push a renovated image of the candidate, noting that “any rebranding effort must honestly confront the problems of the brand.” Among Trump's brand problems, Gerson listed Trump's mere 11 percent support among Latinos, “the lowest support for a Republican presidential candidate since polls began tracking Latino votes”:

Any rebranding effort must honestly confront the problems of the brand. Trump has a disapproval rating of 70 percent among women and the highest overall disapproval rating recorded by Gallup since it began tracking this measure in 1992. Among voters 18 to 24, Trump loses to Hillary Clinton (who is notoriously weak among younger voters) by 25 points. A recent poll found Trump with 11 percent support among Latinos, the lowest support for a Republican presidential candidate since polls began tracking Latino votes. In Florida — which was won by Jeb and George W. Bush as governor and president — Trump is losing to Clinton among Hispanic voters by 51 points. Fifty-one points.

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It was under Priebus’s leadership that the 2012 Republican “autopsy” was produced, a document calling for accelerated outreach to women, the young and Latino voters. Trump represents the reversal of everything Priebus had planned for the Republican future. If Priebus ends up blessing the Trump nomination, the results would reach far beyond 2016. It would turn the sins of Trump into the sins of the GOP. And Priebus would go down as the head of the party who squandered the legacy of Lincoln, the legacy of Reagan, in a squalid and hopeless political effort. [Washington Post, 4/25/16]

Jorge Ramos: “87% Of Hispanics Have A Negative Opinion” Of Trump, And He Can't Win A General Election “Without Latinos.” In an April 27 tweet, Univision's Jorge Ramos put recent polling data in context by noting Trump “can't win the White House” without the Latino vote:

87% of Hispanics have a negative opinion of @realDonaldTrump (Latino Decisions) and without Latinos he can't win the White House.

— JORGE RAMOS (@jorgeramosnews) April 27, 2016

[Twitter.com, 4/27/16]