Donald Trump is in scrambling revisionist mode after canceling his Q&A with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which was scheduled for later this week.
“This is the first time I’m hearing about this,” Trump blabbed to CNN, claiming he never really agreed to make the USHCC appearance in the first place. “I mean, I never agreed.”
But, the facts would suggest otherwise. The New York Times points out The Donald told Fox News in an interview just last month that “he was planning to attend the forum and acknowledged that it could be unfriendly” (wonder why):
“That won’t be that easy of a meeting because you’ll have hundreds of people and they will have constituents of his [USHCC President and CEO Javier Palomarez] and they may disagree with me, but ultimately we will all get along.”
But, after a dangerous summer of screaming that immigrants from Mexico are criminals — when the data says quite the opposite, actually — we know Trump is usually pretty careless when it comes to the facts.
United We Dream rightfully claimed victory after Trump announced the cancellation, saying “the USHCC was wrong to offer Donald Trump a platform but thousands in our community made it clear that if the USHCC wouldn’t hold Trump accountable, we would.”
“Rather than face the people he’s been demonizing, Trump decided to run away like the coward that he is.”
The USHCC said in a statement that Trump, knowing he’d be under severe criticism from immigrant youth and Latino businessowners at the Q&A, basically asked for special treatment from the organization so he’d be shielded from any possible talk that would hurt his orange feelings.
But, when the group responded they’d treat him just like they would any other Presidential candidate, Trump took his ball, climbed back inside Hair Force One, and went home:
“USHCC refused to change the format of the forum, show any favoritism, exclude any issues or topics, or grant any immunity from objective scrutiny of his policies. As a result, despite having agreed on numerous occasions, Trump has now reversed his position and has elected to not participate in the Q&A Session — making him the only candidate from either party to do so.”
“The USHCC statement added: ‘Withdrawing from the Q&A can only suggest that Trump himself believes his views are indefensible before a Hispanic audience.’”
It’s the kind of petty, sleazy behavior we’d expect from the likes of Trump, who likes to spew anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric at campaign rallies where shouts of “White Power!” can be heard, but is too cowardly to try the same in front of audiences packed with immigrant youth and Latinos.
“In the end, Donald Trump ‘chickened out,’” read one scathing La Opinion editorial. “This will definitely not help improve Trump’s image among Latinos. After bashing immigrants and hiding behind those who agree with him, he adds ‘coward’ to the many adjectives that describe him.”
Latinos and immigrants: One. Donald Trump: Zero.
