Texas Dem compares Latino Trump supporters to 'Jews for Hitler'

Matthew Choi
March 17, 2024

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat from McAllen, compared Hispanic Trump supporters to “Jews for Hitler,” prompting fierce backlash from Republicans as he runs for reelection in a mostly Hispanic South Texas district.

In an interview with The New Republic published Monday, Gonzalez warned that Democrats could soon lose support among socially conservative Hispanic voters in South Texas as Republicans increasingly invest in the area. He said Hispanic voters are largely turned off by the anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from the top of the Republican ticket, including former President Donald Trump casting Mexican immigrants as “rapists.”

“If they didn’t have that racist, divisive element within their party, they would have a lot of Latinos, but they can’t seem to shake that off,” Gonzalez told the magazine. “The rhetoric you hear from the Republican Party is shameful and disgraceful for Latinos. And you know, when you see ‘Latinos for Trump,’ to me it is like seeing ‘Jews for Hitler,’ almost, you know?”

Republicans are pouring money into unseating Gonzalez in the 34th congressional district, which is based in the lower Rio Grande Valley and includes Brownsville and Harlingen. Former U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores is running for the seat after losing to Gonzalez in the 2022 general election. She had won the seat in a special election only a few months earlier, breaking a multi-generational streak of Democratic control in South Texas.

More:
https://www.alternet.org/latinos-for-trump/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Mar.18.2024_1.30pm