Republican candidates all insist that Hispanics love them

All the GOP candidates say that Latinos love them

(Image credit: Michael Ciaglo-Pool/Getty Images)

last updated 26 February 2016

At CNN's Thursday night debate in Houston, CNN's Wolf Blitzer noted that two of the five candidates are Cuban-Americans, then asked if Latino voters are being turned off of the Republican Party by all this talk about the Mexican border wall and deportation. Ted Cruz said that no, he won 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in Texas, and that's because he understands Latino values: "Faith, family, patriotism."

That sparked a cascade of the other four candidates explaining why Latino voters will love them also, or better. Trump went last, and Telemundo anchor Maria Celeste Arraras noted that while "you keep saying Hispanic voters love you" — "True," Trump said — a new Telemundo poll found that 75 percent of Latino voters have a negative opinion of him. "First of all, I don't believe anything Telemundo says," Trump said.

For the record, a new Washington Post/Univision poll found that 80 percent of Hispanic voters have an unfavorable view of Trump, including 7 of 10 who have a "very unfavorable" view.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.