Democratic lawmakers said Gov. Mike Pence was “dismissive” of Hispanics when he accused his Democratic rival for vice president of bringing up “that Mexican thing” during Tuesday night’s debate.
“His letting that phrase slip from his lips shows he was frustrated and exasperated and it shows how dismissive of our community both Mike Pence and Donald Trump are,” said Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Linda Sanchez, D-Calif. “It says, ‘do we even have to talk about that Mexican thing?'”
During the debate, Kaine interrupted Pence to say that Donald Trump says “Mexicans are rapists and criminals,” and Pence, cutting back in, said, “Senator, you’ve whipped out that Mexican thing again.”
Pence was largely seen as the better performer at the debate. But Democrats on Wednesday were eager to highlight potentially weak moments for Pence. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said he was sitting in the audience when Pence made the Mexican remark.
“There was an audible gasp from the crowd when Pence said ‘that Mexican thing,'” Gallego said. “It was a very disturbing comment and more disturbing that there has been no effort by the Trump campaign to talk about this or even clear up past remarks. It shows really what the Trump-Pence campaign thinks about the Mexican community in general. It’s those types of comments that are going to bring out many Latinos to vote who normally wouldn’t.”
Sanchez said Kaine “had a very strong performance” on Tuesday, while Pence “just interrupted and sort of was exasperated by Tim Kaine raising, quote unquote, that Mexican thing.”
Sanchez warned Trump and Pence that the comment “is going to come back to bite you” when Hispanic voters turn out to vote in large numbers for Kaine and Clinton.
Polls show Hispanics have a negative view of Trump, and he significantly trails Clinton when it comes to Hispanic support in key battleground states. A Boston Herald-Franklin Pierce University poll of likely voters, taken in early September, foundTrump favored by a third of Latino voters.
