MIAMI — A day after Jeb Bush hugged his Mexican-born wife and spoke flawless Spanish during his presidential campaign announcement, Donald Trump
went in a different direction when he announced his White House bid: He
bashed immigrants and said Mexico was no friend of the USA.
Latin America noticed — and wasn't pleased.
The
real estate magnate became front-page news south of the border after he
said Mexico and other Latin American countries were "not sending their
best" people to the U.S., but rather criminals, drug dealers and
rapists.
"They're laughing at us, at our stupidity" Trump said
Tuesday in New York City. "And now they're beating us economically. They
are not our friend, believe me. The U.S. has become a dumping ground
for everybody else's problems."
Mexico's El Universal
newspaper proclaimed on its front page that Trump had "lashed out" at
Mexicans while promising to build a "great wall" on the Mexican border.
Argentina's Clarín newspaper decried the "nationalistic vein" that Trump struck throughout his speech.
Social
media blew up throughout the region, as Americans quipped that Trump
had already lost the Hispanic vote and Latin Americans expressed shocked
over the statements made by the reality TV star. Comedian Rob Schneider
directed a tweet at Trump, saying his daughter is half-Mexican and
lamenting that she has the "problem" of speaking two languages before
turning three years old.
As his statements circulated through the region, Mexican government officials started weighing in too.
Miguel
Ángel Osorio, Mexico's secretary of the interior, said Trump's comments
ignored the fact that the U.S. was built by the hard work of immigrants
from around the world. José Antonio Meade, Mexico's secretary of
foreign affairs, put it more simply, saying Trump's comments displayed
"profound ignorance."
One of the most common reactions came from Lisa Navarrete of the National Council of La Raza, a U.S. group that advocates for immigrants in the country.
"I look at him as a 2-year-old who will say a naughty word to get their parents' attention," she said, according to Latina.com.
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