To Understand Trump’s Latino Problem, Just Look At Hispanic Media

Fusion: “The Republican Party, 162, Has Died”

Written by Cristina López G.

Published

Hispanic media and Latino journalists reacted to the news that Donald Trump is the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee by noting that Trump's anti-immigrant vitriol has made it extremely challenging for the businessman to get the Latino vote he needs in the general election.

Donald Trump Is GOP's Presumptive Nominee After Other Candidates Drop Out

Wash. Post: Trump Becomes “De Facto” GOP Nominee Following Cruz Exit. In a May 3 article, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump has become the GOP's “de facto” nominee after winning the Republican primary in Indiana and Sen. Ted Cruz’s withdrawal from the Republican primary race. According to the Post:

Donald Trump, the celebrity mogul whose brash and un­or­tho­dox presidential bid was counted out time and again, became the de facto Republican nominee Tuesday night after a runaway victory in Indiana’s primary forced his chief rival, Ted Cruz, to quit the race.

Trump overcame a spirited last stand by Cruz — and a patchwork movement of Republicans working desperately to derail him in fear that his polarizing politics could doom the party — to gallop to the nomination. Indiana’s results positioned him to easily accumulate the 1,237 delegates required to avert a contested convention. [The Washington Post, 5/3/16]

NY Times: Kasich Drops Out. On May 4, The New York Times reported that Gov. John Kasich has also dropped out of the Republican primary election, leaving Trump without opponents for the GOP nomination:

Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, a moderate voice who tried to portray himself as the adult in the Republican primary field but failed to win any state but his own, is ending his long-shot quest for the presidency on Wednesday, according to two people briefed on his decision.

Mr. Kasich’s departure, a day after Donald J. Trump’s victory in the Indiana primary, leaves Mr. Trump as the only candidate remaining in the Republican race. His closest challenger, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, dropped out Tuesday night. [The New York Times, 5/4/16]

Hispanic Media And Latino Journalists React To Trump's Presumptive Nomination

Fusion: “The Republican Party ... Died Tuesday Night At The Age Of 162.” On May 3, Fusion -- Univision's digital venture -- wrote a satirical obituary for the Republican Party in response to Donald Trump's “presumptive selection” as presidential candidate:

The Republican Party, a national coalition of conservative voters, died Tuesday night at the age of 162. The cause of death was the presumptive selection of Donald J. Trump, a reality TV star and hotelier known for his histrionic exhortations to “Make America Great Again,” to represent the party as its presidential nominee.

[...]

Donald J. Trump, the illness that led to the Party’s demise, seized on these weaknesses in the party’s immune system. Trump was originally misdiagnosed in 2015 as a rash that would clear up by the end of July. But he metastasized quickly, and rose through the polls while calling Mexicans rapists and antagonizing a religion of a billion people. In the end, even the best attempts of Republican establishment leaders to revive their party proved unsuccessful, and on the night of May 3, 2016, on a stage at the Trump Tower in New York City, the Republican Party finally succumbed. The death was announced in a tweet from RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, which called for Republicans to “unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton.” [Fusion, 5/3/16]

Futuro Media Group's Julio Ricardo Varela: Anyone Thinking Trump Will Win “20% Of Latino Vote In This Country Is Delusional.” Following Trump's victory speech after winning the Indiana primaries, Ricardo Varela, political editor of Futuro Media Group (Latino USA, In The Thick), who founded the Latino Rebels blog, reacted with a string of tweets responding to the candidate's allusions that he would give jobs to “the Hispanics.” Varela wrote, "Anyone who thinks @realDonaldTrump will win 20 percent of the Latino vote in this country is delusional”:

[Twitter, 5/3/16]

[Twitter, 5/3/16]

[Twitter, 5/3/16]

BuzzFeed News' Adrian Carrasquillo: “GOP Latinos Who Are #NeverTrump” Are “A Problem For Him.” BuzzFeed News' Latino coverage reporter and editor Adrián Carrasquillo reacted to Trump's assertion during his victory speech that “the Hispanics have been so incredible” to him by noting that the many Latinos who support the #NeverTrump movement will be "a problem for him”:

[Twitter, 5/3/16]

Univision's Enrique Acevedo: “Raise Crows And They Will Peck Your Eyes Out.” On May 3, Univision's nightly news anchor Enrique Acevedo quoted a tweet by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) bemoaning Trump's presumptive nomination, and Acevedo included a Spanish saying that translates as "Raise crows and they will peck your eyes out”:

[Twitter, 5/3/16]

Public Radio International's Gabe Ortíz: GOP Will “Spectacularly Fail" When It Tries To Reach Out To Latinos. Gabe Ortíz, an immigration rights activist who writes for Public Radio International, tweeted on May 3 that the GOP will “spectacularly fail" in reaching out to Latinos because of Trump's anti-immigrant vitriol:

[Twitter, 5/3/16]

Latino Political Avenue: “The New GOP Just Like The Old GOP.” On May 3, Latino-interest news aggregator Latino Political Avenue tweeted a picture depicting Donald Trump dressed as the devil next to a flaming cross and Ku Klux Klan members, writing, "The new #GrandOldParty just like the old #GrandOldParty”:

[Twitter, 5/3/16]

This post has been updated for clarity.