Trump's mixed messages on immigration angers Hispanic supporters
Donald Trump’s immigration plan is getting backlash from some of his strongest Latino supporters. A day after he promised to enforce the laws and deport immigrant lawbreakers, Trump sent new mixed messages, reports CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds.
Trump said Thursday his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto would eventually result in Mexico paying for Trump’s border wall.
“This is just the start of a very tough, detailed negotiation. I mean, this is no different from any deal,” Trump said. “He said I’m not paying for the wall. I say, you’re paying for the wall and we’ll see what happens.”
The problem is that immediately after Wednesday’s meeting, Trump claimed the payment issue never came up. And yet, his host emphasized on Twitter what he said he told the candidate to his face, tweeting: “Mexico would never pay for a wall.”
The proposal is central to the immigration plan Trump laid out in Phoenix Wednesday night, including a stark warning to undocumented U.S. residents.
“Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation,” Trump said.
Trump’s tough tone angered Hispanic supporters.
“We heard a populist propaganda con artist and I’m done with it,” Jacob Monty, a former member of Trump’s National Hispanic Advisory, told MSNBC.
“Not only did he double down on his initial proposals - I think they’re even worse,” Alfonso Aguilar, president of Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, told CNN.
Several members of Trump’s Hispanic advisory council took his rhetoric as a cue to quit. One reportedly wrote to the Republican National Committee that Trump’s council is a “scam” formed “simply for optics.”
In two separate interviews Thursday, Donald Trump insisted this immigration plan is a softening of his original, and the rowdy crowd may have skewed his tone.
Still, what Trump actually intends to do remains unclear.