In 2012, Donald Trump said GOP is 'never going to win another election' without immigration reform
In December of 2012, New York real estate magnate Donald Trump called in to Fox & Friends to talk about immigration reform — and specifically, why he believed it to be key to future Republican victories.
Republicans are "going to have to get smart," he said, musing on Mitt Romney's then-recent loss. "They cannot have what happened to them with immigration and other issues sabotage their elections," Trump continued, adding, "immigration is very important, and the Republicans have to get involved. Otherwise, look, they're never going to win another election!"
Shortly before that call, in late November of 2012, Trump gave an interview to Newsmax in which he argued along similar lines. "Republicans didn't have anything going for them with respect to Latinos," he said of the 2012 race, charging that Democrats too lack a coherent policy but at least have the merit of being "kind" and not "mean-spirited" toward immigrants. In the same conversation, Trump said Romney's "crazy policy of self deportation" was "maniacal" and called on Republicans to handle immigration reform "with respect to people wanting to be wonderful productive citizens of this country."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Since then, of course, Trump has described immigrants in considerably less charitable terms — one might even say he hasn't been kind — and has embraced self-deportation, among other hardline immigration policies. Watch the Fox clip below. Bonnie Kristian
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published