Donald Trump’s Chances of Winning Electoral Vote of Swing State Florida Take Hit as Latino Spokesman Quits
One of the Republican Party's up-and-coming Latino spokespersons is quitting as Florida's communications director to avoid campaigning for Donald Trump.
Wadi Gaitan has bridged the gap between conservative lawmakers and Spanish media for the better part of four years, working as a staffer during Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid before serving as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio's mouthpiece. In a statement given to BuzzFeed News on Monday, the Honduran-American said the GOP's current nominee prompted him to leave state politics behind.
"I'm thankful for my almost two years with the Florida GOP, however, moving on gives me a great, new opportunity to continue promoting free market solutions while avoiding efforts that support Donald Trump," Gaitan said.
Gaitan is joining Washington D.C.-based The LIBRE Initiative, a grassroots Latino organization that receives support from influential industrial billionaires Charles and David Koch. The group does not specifically endorse a candidate, but they do encourage Hispanic voters towards conservative ideals.
A statement released later in the day omitted his feelings about Trump, instead thanking the Florida GOP and Chairman Blaise Ingoglia for having given Gaitan an opportunity.
Latinos Uncomfortable with Trump
Gaitan joins a growing list of Hispanic lawmakers wary of a Trump presidency.
The real estate magnate launched his campaign with a blanket statement calling all Mexicans "rapists" and "criminals," along with a promise to enhance the U.S.-Mexico border wall. He later clarified that Mexico would pay for all upgrades.
His rhetoric continued on the campaign trail. Trump tweeted that Bush likes "the Mexican illegals" because of his Mexico-born wife. He said New Mexico Gov. Susan Martinez was doing a poor job after she skipped his May 24 rally, only to backtrack days later in reaching for her endorsement.
More recently, Trump has criticized Muslim Gold Star father Khizr Khan and Mexican-American Judge Gonzalo Curiel, among others, because of their heritage.
Ongoing opprobrium of minorities led Ruth Guerra to step down as the Republican National Committee's head of Hispanic media relations two months ago. Guerra, who has Mexican roots, reportedly felt uncomfortable working to elect Trump.
The RNC replaced Guerra with former Univision political analyst Helen Aguirre Ferré, whose anti-Trump beliefs were expressed in now-deleted tweets.
Aguirre Ferré deleted at least 12 tweets denouncing the Trump campaign, one suggesting that Trump's anti-immigration platform will backfire. Another says Hispanic Republicans are "caught in the 2016 meat grinder."
Losing Latinos to Clinton
Every national poll released over the last week has Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton beating Trump in a general election, some by double-digits. The gap among Latino is vast.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday shows Hispanic voters favor Clinton by a 75 percent to 18 percent margin. An online poll administered by Florida International University and Hispanic mobile advertising company Adsmovil last month found just 13 percent Latino support for Trump, compared to 80 percent for Clinton.
The latter poll found Trump's biggest Latino supporters were age 65 or older.
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