You might not know it from looking at him-- with the $60,000 weave, all the plastic surgery and the cosmetics-- but Wednesday old man Trump turned 70. It was also the first anniversary of his descent down the escalator at Trump Tower in NYC to make his ugly, racist speech against Hispanic-Americans, a speech which has wrecked the Republican brand (again) among the fastest-growing voter demagraphic in the country. In fact, what Trump's vicious speech did was accelerate that growth, as Hispanics flocked to registered to vote in greater numbers than anyone can recall.Patricia Sullivan reported for the Washington Post that People for the American Way used the occasion to launch a new Spanish language ad (above) in 8 swing states-- Virginia, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They kicked off their campaign in Virginia with a joint appearance of civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and the former 1966 Miss Universe, Alicia Machado, who Trump called "Miss Piggy" regarding her weight and "Miss Housekeeping" regarding her accent. Today the Venezuelan-born Machado is on the verge of her American citizenship with will become a reality in time for her to vote against Trump in November. "I hope," Machado told the media, "my testimonial will help everyone to make a good decision in November."
In Virginia, expected to be a key battleground state, Latinos make up 8.7 percent of the population and 4.6 percent of eligible voters, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Nationwide, Latinos account for 17 percent of the population but only about 11 percent of eligible voters, according to a 2014 study by Pew.“In a tight election, the Latino community can decide who wins,” J. Walter Tejada, a former Arlington County Board member and the chairman of the Virginia Latino Advisory Commission, said at the news conference. “To Mr. Trump, we want to declare a message that hate will not win.”Del. Alfonso H. Lopez (D-Arlington), the first Latino elected to Virginia’s House of Delegates, added “A career built on boorish behavior, xenophobia and division is not worthy of Virginia or the United States.”At the news conference, a coalition of speakers whose families came from Mexico, Venezuela and El Salvador urged Latinos to unite against Trump.“During his journey, he has attacked everyone: Muslims, women, disabled people and immigrants,” said Dolores Huerta, 86, who is co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.“This person is very dangerous to the United States of America,” Huerta said. “I’ve never seen any candidate for president who has so overtly attacked people with such gusto . . . and a portion of the people who follow him are really unstable.”She made a connection between Trump’s statements about undocumented immigrants and Latinos and the massacre of 49 people-- including many gay Latinos-- at an Orlando nightclub Sunday morning. Trump’s rhetoric, she speculated, could inflame other acts of violence.According to a poll released Wednesday by the Center for American Progress, the top concern of both Latinas and African American women in the United States remains economic security for their families. Among Latinas, 21 percent of those queried said immigration and deportation worries were the second-most important concern.Machado, who has two daughters and works as an actress, said she loves the United States but still remembers how insulted she felt 20 years ago when, she says, Trump mocked her appearance and background.Trump has confirmed pressing Machado to lose weight, and according to Business Insider, he called her “an eating machine” in an interview with radio personality Howard Stern.Referring to the “Miss Housekeeping” moniker, Machado said, “That’s how he called me in front of his friends, to make fun of me.”“Then, I thought it was an insult,” she said. “Now, I think it’s an honor” because of the hard work of immigrant housekeepers and nannies.“Everybody in America needs to open their eyes,” Machado said. “We don’t need more divisions in this country.”
Alicia Machado sobrevivió al racismo y humillación de Donald Trump
The biggest population-center of Venezuelan-Americans in the U.S. lives in South Florida, more specifically in Doral near Miami International Airport in the 25th congressional district. FL-25 is currently represented by Trump supporter, Mario Diaz-Balart, the only Miami area congressmember to be backing Trump. Blue America has endorsed Dr. Alina Valdes in her bid to replace Diaz-Balart. This morning we asked her to comment on this effort by People for the American Way, Dolores Huerta and Alicia Machado. She didn't mince words, immediately making it clear she sees Trump as "a vile little man with delusions of grandeur and an exaggerated ego to go along with his insecurities. He belittles others to give himself a sense of superiority that could only come from a man with no moral compass. Trump was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and has taken advantage of people he finds inferior by calling them names and then saying how wonderful he treats the Hispanics because he has employed so many." Alina on a tear:
His hatred of anything not white, male and straight has been broadcast time after time for all to hear but yet he has his "uneducated" sheeple following him and believing he can do all that he says. His Trump Hotel in Doral, the very same city with a large population of Venezuelans, is now in foreclosure. He has also stiffed many workers and contractors by underpaying or not paying them at all. This is the very same man who claims to be worth $10 billion but refuses to show his tax returns. My suspicion is that if he does, it will show him to be the liar that we know he is and that he has probably never paid any taxes using loopholes to get out of his civic responsibility. This is one of the best examples of corporate welfare which continues to plague our American democracy. In spite of all this, the incumbent Republican in FL-25, a Cuban American representing a large Latino population, has stated that he will vote for Trump. The mere thought of supporting a man for President with such hateful rhetoric against your own people should be evidence enough that Mr. Diaz-Balart is part of the problem and I am the solution.
Have you contributed to Alina Valdes' campaign yet? Don't you think we need someone like her in Congress... instead of Mario Diaz-Balart?