Former President Donald Trump was called out after claiming that Vice President Kamala Harris is somehow "KILLING BLACK AND HISPANIC HERITAGE" by allowing "illegal migrants" into the country to take their jobs.
Trump's remarks—absurd considering his "zero tolerance family separation policy" tore migrant families, the majority of them Hispanic, apart—come as he and Harris continue to court Hispanic voters, a key voting bloc that has leaned more conservative in recent years. They also repeat his prior remarks that immigrants are taking "Black jobs," a line that has been widely denounced as racist.
He wrote the following on Truth Social:
"Illegal migrants who are POURING INTO OUR COUNTRY, in record numbers, are taking the JOBS away from Black and Hispanic people who have held them for years. It is devastating for the Black and Hispanic patriots of our nation."
"These jobs are not replaceable, and never will be because, under Comrade Kamala Harris, the Border will be WIDE OPEN and there will always be more people coming in, many of them terrorists and criminals, than jobs available."
"KAMALA IS KILLING BLACK AND HISPANIC HERITAGE, SHE IS KILLING THEIR LEGACY AND THEIR RIGHTS. REGISTER AND VOTE FOR YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE PRESIDENT, ME, NOVEMBER 5TH WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT DAY IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY."
"MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
You can see his post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Trump's claims about "illegal migrants" taking people's jobs are incorrect, as was recently pointed out by economists who debunked his claims about "Black jobs."
Statements Trump made during an interview late last month at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) annual convention have continued to incite controversy since he also used the event to question Harris' racial identity.
At the time, Trump echoed some of his prior rhetoric that immigration hurts U.S. workers when he said:
"A lot of the journalists in this room are Black. I will tell you that coming from the border, are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs."
Those in attendance laughed at what Trump said next when asked to define a "Black job":
"A Black job is anybody that has a job. That's what it is."
Trump went on to say that there's an "invasion" of migrants entering the country, and that "the Black population is affected most by that."
But in recent years under Biden and Harris, a tight labor market has led to record-low Black unemployment and significant wage growth, according to economists like Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute's program on race and the economy, who said Trump's claim is "not true" and contradicted his allegations that economic conditions have been unfavorable for minorities.
In fact, the U.S. economy has continued to grow steadily, with the gross domestic product (GDP) expanding much faster than expected in the second quarter of the year, per U.S. Commerce Department data.
Many have condemned Trump's remarks.
Recently, a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in June highlighted that immigration will play a key role in U.S. economic growth over the next decade. The CBO estimated that the U.S. GDP would rise nearly $9 trillion more than it would without the projected influx of immigrants.
As National Hispanic Heritage Month begins, the Harris campaign is intensifying efforts to connect with Latino voters, announcing a $3 million investment in Spanish-language radio ads and organizing events around sports like baseball and boxing. The campaign has added four Hispanic consultants and plans to mobilize around key dates like Mexican Independence Day.
In 2020, Biden won 64% of the Latino vote, but recent polling suggests Trump has gained ground with this critical demographic, now polling close to 40% of Latino support.
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