President Donald Trump said in an interview that he has “solved” Latinos’ fears of being under attack by his administration.
Trump was asked in an interview with David Brody that aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network what message he had for Latinos that have some “trepidation, that think they are under attack by this administration.”
“Well, I think I’ve really solved that,” Trump said, “because you know the election was not that long ago and we had a great victory.”
Trump emphasized in the interview that he especially did well in the Cuban American community, saying he got 84 percent of that vote.
According to exit polls, Trump won 54 percent of the Cuban American vote in Florida, where two-thirds of people of Cuban descent live. Latino Decisions’ election eve poll showed he got about 48 percent of the Cuban American vote nationally and 52 percent in Florida. Of the estimated 27.3 million Latinos eligible to vote in U.S. elections, about 1.2 million are of Cuban descent, according to Pew Research Center.
NBC Latino reached out to Helen Aguirre Ferré, White House director of media affairs, but has not received a response.
Trump boasted of his performance with Latino voters, which according to the latest exit poll update was about 28 percent, although Latino Decisions polling put it at about 18 percent.
If you go by the exit polls, Trump was correct in saying he did better with Latino voters than Mitt Romney, who won just 27 percent in his loss to former President Barack Obama in 2012. But Trump’s performance was a far drop from the estimated 35 percent and 44 percent of the Latino vote won by former President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, respectively and lower than Sen. John McCain’s 31 percent in 2008.
Read more at Trump Says He’s ‘Solved’ Latinos’ Feelings of Being Under Attack.
