Television personality Geraldo Rivera questioned how any Latino voter with “self-respect” or “self-esteem” could vote for former President Trump in November, citing what Rivera labeled as “horrifying” rhetoric from Trump toward undocumented immigrants
“The immigration reform bill that he did not embrace, rather he has chosen to become an absolute racist when it comes to speaking of particularly Latin, undocumented immigrants,” Rivera told NewsNation’s Leland Vittert in an interview on Monday.
“It’s horrifying. I don’t know how any Latino person of any self-esteem, any self-respect, would be in favor of the ranting, the poisoning the blood of the country,” added Rivera, who said he plans to vote for Harris.
Trump has most recently gone after immigrants in a Colorado city, calling the area a “war zone” and vowing to have Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement “hunt down, arrest and deport every last illegal alien gang member.” The former president had amplified reports about a Venezuelan gang taking over an apartment complex in the city.
He had also launched Springfield, Ohio, into the spotlight after falsely claiming that Haitian immigrants in the area were eating residents’ pets, which city officials have insisted is untrue.
During the Monday interview, Vittert interjected, asking Rivera about polling that shows Trump gaining support among Latino voters than in 2016 and 2020.
Recent polling from the New York Times/Siena College showed Harris underperforming among Latino voters. In 2016, 68 percent of Latino voters backed the Democratic nominee. It dropped to 62 percent in 2020 and Harris now earns 56 percent support.
Comparatively, the GOP has been gaining support. In 2016, the Republican Party garnered 28 percent support and 36 percent in 2020. The survey showed him earning 37 percent support among Latino voters.
“I don’t know how Democrats and Kamala Harris supporters think they are going to convince either Black men who are leaving Kamala Harris or Latinos who are leaving Kamala Harris by saying, ‘I don’t know how you’re in your right mind,'” Vittert said.
“Isn’t it worth examining why these people are leaving Kamala Harris for Donald Trump, rather than just telling them they’re wrong?” he added.
“Oh, I want to be very frank about the fact that I believe that the immigration system and the situation on the border represents the biggest failure of the Democratic administration, of the Biden-Harris administration,” Rivera said.
Border arrests hit an all-time high in December. Since the Biden administration in June rolled out a policy to suspend asylum when border crossings reach a certain threshold, border arrests in August were down 68 percent — hovering near an all-time low — than the same time last year, but still represented a 3 percent jump from the prior month.
Harris, who visited the southern border last month, had said she plans to call for more resources for the Border Patrol. Curbing the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. will be a “top priority” if she’s elected in November, according to her campaign.
“My point is, rather than work together, Donald Trump sought to exacerbate the divisions,” Rivera added.
The Hill has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar, which also owns The Hill.
