Trump praises Jose Fernandez in pitch to Cuban Americans

In his first campaign trip since debating his presidential rival Hillary Clinton Monday night, Trump praised Fernandez, who died in a boating crash on Sunday, as “the epitome” of the Hispanic movement.

“I think Jose Fernandez was the epitome of this Hispanic movement, the Cuban movement. Somebody who leaves their country for a new life who makes it in America,” Trump told the gathering of about 150 people in Miami, according to NBC 6 South Florida.

Fernandez, 24, was born in Cuba, and after three failed attempts, successfully defected to the United States in 2008, where he later became a pitcher for the Marlins. He was a fan favorite in South Florida, and widely seen as an up-and-coming star having twice made the All Star team in his Major League Baseball career that was nearing the completion of its fourth year.

“All over the world they’re talking about this because it was such an incredibly horrible story to be cut down in your prime like that, but what a talent, what a great person,” Trump added. Trump’s forum at Miami-Dade College’s Koubek Center came after he postponed the event twice.

The candidate later paid tribute to Fernandez again at an evening rally in Melbourne, Fla., where he said Fernandez was “just about as good a pitcher as there ever was at that age.”

Hispanics will play a key role in the November election, as Census statistics show they make up about a quarter of the state’s population. In Miami in particular there is a large Cuban American population, many of whom are defectors themselves and are against President Obama’s re-establishment of diplomatic ties with Havana following a 50-year embargo.

Earlier in the month, Trump seemed to reverse his former acceptance of the normalization of relations with the island nation, threatening to cancel, as president, Obama’s “concessions” if the government continues to violate the human and religious rights of its citizens.

“All of the concessions that Barack Obama has granted the Castro regime were done through executive order, which means the next president can reverse them,” Trump told voters at a rally in Miami. “And that, I will do, unless the Castro regime meets our demands — not my demands, our demands,” he said.

A RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Trump and Clinton virtually tied in the key battleground state (44.2 to 44.8 percent). But when it comes to support among Hispanic voters, both nationwide and in Florida, Trump has a lot of work to do if he plans to catch Clinton, polling suggests.

Earlier in the year Trump beat the Florida’s own senator, Marco Rubio, in the state’s Republican primary, after which Rubio dropped out.