Beware! Trump Does Not Really Want Latino Vote!
For the past year, Donald Trump has been very outspoken about his plan to “build a wall” along the southern border of the United States. His stated goal is to stop illegal immigration. Sounds like a noble endeavor, when looking at it from the northern side of the border. But, Trump has been pummeled ever since with accusations racism and bigotry, especially and most loudly from, not surprisingly, Mexico and Mexicans. In light of the prognostication by Pew Research that Latinos will comprise about 12% of the total electorate in 2016, such accusations do not bode well for Trump’s presidential aspirations.
In spite of what appears to be an across-the-board dislike of Trump by Latinos, he is not swayed in his belief that his is genuinely loved by the Spanish-speaking (or those whose parents and grandparents are Spanish-speaking) populace.
Trump has predicted often in the last year something very similar to what he boldly stated to NBC News last year – “And I’ll tell you something, if I get the nomination, I’ll win the Latino vote.”
Perhaps he truly believes . . .
Perhaps he really does not care and it is all an act . . .
This seems the more likely scenario. If Trump truly wanted to win the Latino vote, he would not have released his plan on how he intends to secure Mexico’s agreement to pay for the wall he says he’ll build.
The Washington Post reported this morning that Trump will “negotiate” Mexico’s cooperation by prohibiting those not legally present in the United States from wiring money to their family members in Mexico. In a 2-page memorandum issued by the Trump campaign to the Washington Post, Trump outlines how an estimated $24 billion in annual revenue would immediately cease to be infused into the Mexican economy through such action. Trump opines that Mexico will immediately object to such measures, but will ultimately agree to fund the construction of the wall.
The Washington Post reports that:
The proposal would jeopardize a stream of cash that many economists say is vital for Mexico’s struggling economy. But the feasibility of Trump’s plan is unclear both legally and politically, and also would test the bounds of a president’s executive powers in seeking to pressure another country.
In the memo, Trump said he would threaten to change a rule under the USA Patriot Act antiterrorism law to cut off a portion of the funds sent to Mexico through money transfers, commonly known as remittances. The threat would be withdrawn if Mexico made “a one-time payment of $5-10 billion” to pay for the border wall, he wrote.
What do you think? Is this a legitimate action? Or is it extortion?
You can be sure it will be viewed and reported as extortion by Mexico, Mexicans, other Latinos, Univision, Telemundo, the National Council of La Raza, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and any other group that advocates for further “rights” for illegal immigrants inside the United States.
Perhaps you believe such action concerning the remittance of funds to foreign countries to be warranted. Why would a nation seeking to prevent illegal employment of aliens for their illegally-obtained earnings to be sent to another country? An excellent question that can and should be discussed and debated.
But not in the context of forcing Mexico to pay for a wall. And not by a presidential candidate that keeps claiming with his traditional arrogance that he will win the Latino vote.
Whether you believe it is legitimate policy action or not, this proposal certainly will not win Trump the Latino vote he keeps promising. In fact, today’s announcement will push Latinos further and further away from support of both Trump and the Republican Party.
The purpose of this article is not to debate the merits of Trump’s announced plan, but to directly and boldly state that Donald J. Trump cares not a whit about winning the Latino vote, and in fact seeks to push Latino voters further and further away from the Republican Party and traditional conservative voting ideals.
Let’s see if we can be more clear here – Donald J. Trump is not seeking to bring Latinos into the Republican Party, but is seeking to push them to vote Democrat. Plain and simple.
Do you agree or not? Please tell us why. Let’s start a debate on Trump’s real intentions as concerns legitimate conservatives, the Republican Party, and Trump himself.
We’ve long suggested that the GOP is not just a dying party, but on it’s last breath. We wrote on November 7, 2012 an article entitled RIP GOP, republished in part on this website here.
That so many voters believe Trump is the answer to this nation’s woes is just more evidence of the pending death of the Grand Ole Party.