Donald Trump is the ‘brand’ of the Mass Deportation Party (Updated)

Over the weekend I read in The Hill that GOP fears Trump hurting brand:

TrumpFingerThe GOP can’t dump Trump. In fact, right now the billionaire businessman would earn a top spot on the debate stage given his poll numbers. And that’s a worry for party veterans.

“We’re now trying to grow the numbers of votes in the Hispanic, African-American communities and work on growing the amount of female voters,” said GOP strategist Ron Bonjean, who suggested Trump is kneecapping those efforts.

“He’s not hurting other candidates. He is risking the Republican brand,” added fellow Republican strategist David Payne.

Seriously, Dude? Donald Trump is the GOP brand — represented by the xenophobic, anti-immigrant nativist and racist Rep. Steve King (R-IA) — of the Mass Deportation Party. Trump’s surge among GOP primary voters since his entry in the race proves it.

Here is what “The Donald” had to say in his “really huge” announcement that he will grace us by running for president. Here’s Donald Trump’s Presidential Announcement Speech:

When do we beat Mexico at the border? They’re laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they’re killing us economically.

The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems.

Thank you. It’s true, and these are the best and the finest. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

But I speak to border guards and they tell us what we’re getting. And it only makes common sense. It only makes common sense.

They’re sending us not the right people.

It’s coming from more than Mexico. It’s coming from all over South and Latin America, and it’s coming probably— probably— from the Middle East. But we don’t know. Because we have no protection and we have no competence, we don’t know what’s happening. And it’s got to stop and it’s got to stop fast.

* * *

I will immediately terminate President Obama’s illegal executive order on immigration, immediately.

* * *

I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.

A couple of weeks later, “The Donald” doubled down on his comments in an interview with CNN’s Don Lemmon. Donald Trump doubles down on anti-immigration remarks:

Pressed by host Don Lemon on “CNN Tonight” Wednesday, Trump turned to cherry-picked news headlines to back up his June 16 remarks.

“You look at the statistics on rape, on crime, on everything coming in illegally into this country  they’re mind-boggling!” Trump told Lemon, alluding to a 2014 Fusion story that claimed 80 percent of Central American women and girls crossing the border had been victims of rape.

Lemon pushed back. “That’s about women being raped,” he said. “It’s not about criminals coming across the border and entering the country.”

Trump, known for hard-hitting comebacks, delivered.

“Somebody’s doing the raping, Don,” Trump said by phone. “I mean, somebody’s doing it. Women are being raped. Who’s doing the raping? Who’s doing the raping?”

Screenshot from 2015-07-06 11:49:28Jon Stewart had the perfect campaign slogan for Trump: “I believe we have our campaign slogan. ‘Trump 2016: Somebody’s doing the raping,’”

“The Donald” doubled-down yet again. Trump doubles down on plans for wall along Mexican border:

Donald Trump continues to go all-in on illegal immigration policy, highlighting an alleged cold-blooded homicide last week in San Francisco by a Mexican man who previously had been deported five times.

* * *

Trump said Friday the fatal shooting of Kathryn Steinle, 32, was “very, very sad,” and he offered his condolences to the woman’s family. In a statement, he referred to Steinle’s death as a “senseless and totally preventable act of violence” and “yet another example of why we must secure our border.”

Then, Trump went on the attack. On Twitter, Trump claimed some rival candidates have had their chances at securing the border and have failed.

* * *

 Trump continues to lose partnerships in the wake of his anti-immigrant remarks. NBC Universal and Univision pulled the plug on Trump’s Miss America pageant following his speech, and Macy’s no longer will carry his clothing line. According to NBC News, NASCAR is the latest to pull away from Trump, saying it will not hold its season-ending awards ceremony at Trump’s resort in Miami.

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Despite all the bad publicity, “The Donald” has surged in the GOP primary polls. The xenophobic, nativist racist base voters of the GOP love him all the more for being under attack for his “conservative” views.

“National polls by CNN and Fox News conducted at the end of June show Mr. Trump in second place, behind Mr. Bush, among other Republicans vying for the nomination. He also claimed the no. 2 spot in the most recent polls of Republicans in the first two nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire.” GOP Hopefuls Distance Themselves From Donald Trump:

TrumpImmigrantsA number of Mr. Trump’s rivals for the GOP nomination distanced themselves from comments the real-estate mogul made last month about Mexican immigrants.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry Sunday stepped up his criticism of  Mr. Trump, who suggested in announcing his candidacy June 16 that a disproportionate share of Mexican immigrants are “rapists” or “bringing drugs” to the U.S.—comments the real-estate-mogul-turned-reality-TV-star continues to defend.

“Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party,” Mr. Perry said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I was offended by his remarks.”

The former governor also pushed back on Mr. Trump’s assertion that Mr. Perry did not do a good job preventing immigrants from coming across the state’s border with Mexico. “I don’t think he understands the challenge, obviously,” Mr. Perry said, before citing his efforts to stem the flood of immigrant children to the border last summer. “Mr. Trump doesn’t know that.”

Whatever Mr. Trump’s prospects are for winning the GOP nomination, he has had an undeniable impact on the contest, drawing attention for his indelicate remarks about immigrants and provoking further scrutiny about how some Republicans discuss the issue of immigration and whether their rhetoric will alienate Latino voters in 2016.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney have all condemned Mr. Trump in recent days for the tone and substance of his remarks. Mr. Bush, whose wife was born in Mexico, was particularly pointed, suggesting Mr. Trump is just trying to generate media coverage for his presidential campaign.

[Note: Former New York Governor George Pataki, Pataki calls on GOP candidates to denounce Trump comments, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have been critical. Chris Christie: Trump’s Comments On Illegal Immigrants Inappropriate.]

Mr. Trump quickly responded to Mr. Bush, issuing a statement to say, “Jeb Bush once again proves that he is out of touch with the American people…he doesn’t understand anything about the border or border security.”

On Sunday, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, another Republican looking to win over the most conservative GOP voters, seemed to side with the substance of what Mr. Trump said, if not the way he said it.

“People who are coming illegally obviously are coming with a bad intent, let’s just be honest,” Mr. Santorum said during an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “They’re coming with the clear intent of breaking the law. I don’t think we can sugarcoat that but that doesn’t mean that everybody who’s coming across is a rapist or murderer or anything else.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of the few Republicans to defend Mr. Trump, again praised his rival for spotlighting immigration as a major issue in the 2016 White House race, Cruz: ‘I salute Donald Trump’ on immigration, but said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he’s “not going to engage in the media’s game of throwing rocks and attacking other Republicans. I’m just not going to do it.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, another Republican in the race, sidestepped the issue during an interview on CNN, saying, “Donald Trump needs no help from Mike Huckabee to get publicity. He’s doing a really good job of that.”

Mr. Trump’s corporate partners, including NBC Universal and Macy’s M -0.04%, have severed their business partnerships with the polarizing reality-TV star since he made the comments.

But public-opinion surveys show Mr. Trump gaining ground, not losing ground, with Republican primary voters.

The Hill reports on Why Trump is resonating on the right:

He may be an object of derision to many followers of the 2016 presidential race, but advocates for tougher border laws are cheering Donald Trump’s controversial statements on immigration.

While they say Trump’s rhetoric could be improved, groups opposed to illegal immigration are hoping Trump’s recent headlines will force other Republican candidates to take firmer stances on border security.

“The first point to make is that Trump is resonating with a lot of people,” Mark Krikorian, executive director for the [anti-immigrant hate group] Center for Immigration Studies, told The Hill.

* * *

Trump has seen a barrage of business entities terminate relationships with him since the remarks. Macy’s, NBC and Univision have each cut ties with the outspoken billionaire in the wake of his diatribe.

But despite the bad press, Trump’s campaign is surging. He placed in second in two recent national polls of the 2016 Republican White House field, and has seen a particular surge in the early-voting state of New Hampshire.

Conservative radio host Steve Deace argued Trump’s words are ringing true with conservatives who are tired of how they’ve been treated by the establishment Republican Party.

“Trump is simply saying what a lot of average Americans who could care less what people inside the 202 and 212 area code thinks to some extent,” Deace told the Hill.

“The idea of this hurting the GOP brand is laughable,” he said. “What brand?”

“They already lie to their conservative base repeatedly,” Deace said of mainstream Republicans.

“Most of the GOP’s base is looking for reasons to revolt,” he added. “The brand here isn’t just damaged – it needs an exorcism.”

Donald Trump is the “brand” of the Mass Deportation Party. Maybe he will pick Rep. Steve King as his running mate.

UPDATE: Think Progress has more reactions. What Republican Leaders Have To Say About Donald Trump:

The Republican National Committee:

Hours after Trump made the initial statement, Republican National Committee Director Sean Spicer said his statements were “not helpful to the cause” of making the Republican party inclusive to Latino voters. Party officials have not offered an official apology.

UPDATE: “The Donald” today resorted to the favorite trope of anti-immigrant hysteria over the ages. Trump: ‘Infectious disease is pouring across the border’:

Donald Trump doubled down on his controversial comments about illegal immigration from Mexico on Monday, saying that “infectious disease is pouring across the border.”

Trump issued a lengthy — nearly 900 word — statement invoking the death of a San Francisco woman shot and killed last week by a suspect who had previously been deported to Mexico five times.

“This is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States,” Trump said Monday. “In other words, the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government.”

The 2016 Republican presidential candidate said that Mexican drug cartels are using immigrants to smuggle heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs into the United States.

“The Border Patrol knows this. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border,” Trump continued.

You have a better chance of catching a communicable disease from an “anti-vaxxer” Hollywood celebrity and their snot-nosed kids than immigrants.

2 thoughts on “Donald Trump is the ‘brand’ of the Mass Deportation Party (Updated)”

  1. Other than George Pataki the Repub candidates for the nomination have not been very critical of Trump’s comments. Their statements have varied from support (Cruz), to not helpful and have demonstrated that they are afraid of alienating the controlling element of their party. The really alarming point is that there are so many people who agree with Trump and approve of his candidacy. It is too bad there aren’t any real leaders in the Republican Party!

  2. “You have a better chance of catching a communicable disease from an “anti-vaxxer” Hollywood celebrity and their snot-nosed kids than immigrants.”

    And you have the audacity to claim that I pull things out of my ass!

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