President Trump marked Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House, and in true Trump fashion, he used the occasion to make a weird and possibly racist comment to his audience. The remark came during a nearly hour-long speech that hit on a number of Trump’s favorite topics, from his ballroom project to immigration to invading other countries.
Trump makes strange joke about Hispanics and his ballroom
President Trump hosted a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the White House on Wednesday. Speaking in the East Room, Trump directed his audience to visit the controversial ballroom he is constructing on the site of the demolished East Wing. “There’s a tunnel going to what I think will be the greatest ballroom ever built. It’s also a tremendous military complex with a drone port on top; it’s quite the place,” Trump told the audience as he went on a tangent about the ballroom. “You literally will be the first group ever to enter the premises. So be very careful. Don’t fall over the edge, because it’s a long way down, and only a Hispanic could survive that fall,” Trump quipped, “so, I’m not overly worried.”
Republican support waning among Hispanic voters
The strange comment appeared to be part of Trump’s attempt at outreach to Hispanics. Trump performed better than expected among Hispanic or Latino voters in the 2024 election. Since returning to office, Trump has implemented policies including heavy-handed and potentially racist immigration enforcement and anti-diversity measures that have negatively impacted many Hispanic people. Heading into November’s midterms, polls show Hispanic support for the GOP dwindling, with only about one quarter of Hispanic voters approving of the direction of the country or planning to support Republicans in November’s congressional elections. This trend is particularly relevant in key states such as Florida and Texas, where Democratic candidates like Angie Nixon and James Talarico hope to pull upsets in their respective Senate races and a number of other key races are on the line. During Wednesday’s event, Trump claimed to have benefited Hispanic and non-Hispanic Americans through his economic policies, defended his immigration policies as targeting “bad people” and told the audience to “get out and vote.”
Foreign policy boasts and a threat against Cuba
During his speech, Trump also defended his administration’s foreign policy. He boasted about the geographical name-changing trolling he has done against neighboring countries, including renaming Lake Ontario and relabeling the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. “There could be a few people in the room that don’t love that one,” Trump said of the Gulf of America relabeling. The president also touted his controversial regime-change policies, including the invasion of Venezuela and the ongoing war with Iran. Trump also hinted that Cuba might be the next target of his administration. Trump has long targeted Cuba; during his recent United Nations speech, Trump called the country “an absolutely failed state” and predicted “it will fall.” At Wednesday’s White House event, Trump introduced Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “the highest ranking Hispanic American in the history of our country” and made a reference to Rubio’s “next job” before saying “just watch what he does with Cuba.”
From veiled threats against other countries to bizarrely racial jokes, Trump’s Hispanic Heritage Month address matched the energy and content of many of his previous speeches. The comments, while offering typical Trump content, come at a time when Hispanic Americans appear to be leaving Trump and the GOP behind as the midterm vote approaches.