Twitter reacts to this Trump supporter's #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner threat
The Tacopocalypse is upon us.
Or it will be, if America doesn’t close its borders soon, one Hispanic Donald Trump supporter predicted.
During an MSNBC interview Thursday, Marco Gutierrez, the Mexican-born founder of Latinos for Trump, warned of an imminent disaster if America ignored the problem of illegal immigration. The dire consequence: vehicles along every city block hawking dangerous combinations of beef, pork, fish or chicken, plus cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes ensconced in a tortilla.
“We need to understand that this is a different time and we’re having problems here,” Gutierrez said of undocumented immigration, which Trump has vehemently pledged to cut down with deportations. “My culture is a very dominant culture and it’s imposing and it’s causing problems. If you don’t do something about it, you’re gonna have taco trucks [on] every corner.”
Twitter’s response?
Snark, a trending hashtag (#TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner), and musings that maybe -- just maybe -- a future where tacos are no longer limited to Tuesdays may not sound so bad.
Here are some of Twitter’s best takes on Gutierrez’s comments:
I'm sure this has been said a hundred times tonight, but #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner has pretty much sold me on amnesty. VIVA LA HEART DISEASE.
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) September 2, 2016
You get a taco truck...and YOU get a taco truck...EVERYONE GETS A TACO TRUCK! #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner pic.twitter.com/7THHLOegxx
— Ryan McGee (@TVMcGee) September 2, 2016
Deep down i believe @VP responded to #tacotrucksoneverycorner like this pic.twitter.com/F9yMHx5gJR
— Dorsey Shaw (@dorseyshaw) September 2, 2016
Me laughing at my haters. #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner pic.twitter.com/IyGBVcflXk
— Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) September 2, 2016
The Washington Post took a (semi-)serious look at #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner as a policy proposal:
"A taco truck on every corner and the implications for the national economy." Bump, Philip; 2016. https://t.co/59Q84OEykC
— Philip Bump (@pbump) September 2, 2016
Even the Texas Democratic Party joined in on the Twitter fun:
RETWEET if you want#TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner. 😋 pic.twitter.com/cu4KpAFtze
— Texas Democrats (@texasdemocrats) September 2, 2016
While one civic-minded group jumped at the suggestion:
Let's support local businesses and keep #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner. Register to vote: https://t.co/IoF13auGPz pic.twitter.com/XrjnlEACS6
— Voto Latino (@votolatino) September 2, 2016
And Andrei Cherny, once a speechwriter for former President Bill Clinton and now the head of an investment firm, Aspiration, noted the similarities between Herbert Hoover’s 1928 promise of a “chicken in every pot”:
There will be PhD dissertations written about America's journey from a 'chicken in every pot' to a 'taco truck on every corner'
— Andrei Cherny (@AndreiCherny) September 2, 2016
The tweets come amid a backlash from Trump’s own Hispanic supporters following the GOP nominee’s scorched-earth speech on immigration earlier this week. Trump, despite hedging for several days on the controversial issue of mass deportations, solidified his hardline immigration stance with the Arizona address -- to the displeasure of some members of his National Hispanic Advisory Council.
But while one of Trump’s Latino surrogates attempted to instill the fear of tacos in American voters, Trump himself has recognized the food’s appeal, using it to court Hispanic voting blocs.
Earlier this year, in a tweet celebrating the Cinco de Mayo holiday, Trump circulated a photo of himself tucking into Trump Tower Grill’s signature “taco bowl” and declaring “I love Hispanics!”
Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! https://t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016