With the presidential election less than two months away, Donald Trump is "on the precipice of becoming the only major-party presidential candidate this century not to reach out to millions of American voters whose dominant, first, or just preferred language is Spanish," Politico reported Friday.
Although Latinos account for 10 percent of the voting population, the Republican presidential nominee hasn't offered up a single Spanish-language ad. While a combined total of $23 million was spent on Spanish-language ads in 2012, Trump has yet to spend a dime. And, in what Politico noted is a break with "two decades of bipartisan tradition," Trump's website doesn't offer the option of a Spanish translation.
Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has been airing "thousands of dollars" worth of Spanish-language ads in Nevada and Florida. Her running mate, Tim Kaine, is fluent in Spanish, and her website has a Spanish translation option.
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Essentially, former Trump Hispanic advisory council member Alfonso Aguilar said, Trump is "leaving a vacuum for the opposition to define." And even if Trump did decide on a last-minute deluge of Spanish-language ads, Politico's interviews with Latino voters indicate it would be too little, too late. "He's not willing to give into anything that shows that he wants to cater to us," said Juan Hernandez, a Hispanic Republican and former President George W. Bush adviser. "And he believes that he doesn't have to. He believes he can still squeeze out a few more white, over 50 [year-old] votes."
Head to Politico for more on the story, including Trump's odds of winning without the Latino vote.
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