Donald Trump was the only Republican presidential candidate to respond to a Democratic New York lawmaker’s invite to visit his heavily Latino district in the Bronx.
Roughly 60 percent of the population in state Sen. Ruben Diaz’s legislative district is Hispanic. So when Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas launched their presidential campaigns, Diaz invited the two Latino candidates to visit his community. Diaz also sent an invitation to Trump shortly after his presidential announcement.
“This would be a historic moment for the Bronx,” Diaz wrote in his invitation to Trump. “For as long as I can recall, no Republican presidential candidate has come here to get to know us no matter how often they have been invited.”
Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but Diaz says the New York-based businessman as “the only who who has shown some kind of respect and interest.”
“Donald Trump personally called me and told me that he will definitely work something out with me to visit the Bronx,” Diaz wrote in a recent statement.
Diaz previously defended Trump in a blog post on his Senate website after the bombastic GOP candidate caused a media frenzy for comments he made about illegal immigrants from Mexico.
“I want you to know that Donald Trump has not been the only public figure who has offended a large community of people,” Diaz wrote on July 27. “In my humble opinion, others have said even worse and have not received the punishment, criticism and mockery that Donald Trump has received.”
The Democratic lawmaker is also a Pentecostal minister. He ran for re-election in 2008 on a socially conservative platform after expressing his disgust in the Democratic party’s views on gay marriage and abortion rights.
Throughout his tenure in the New York State Assembly, Diaz has strived to be a champion for the Hispanic community, which he describes as the “most sought after” demographic receiving the “least attention during presidential election.”
“Republicans don’t spend their resources, time, energy or make any effort to campaign or even visit Hispanic areas in the nation, especially New York City,” Diaz wrote on his Senate website, adding that “Democrats are no better because when they get elected, they don’t pay too much attention to the Hispanic communities either.”
“This is a special dilemma for the Hispanic community,” he wrote.
Diaz says he hopes the billionaire businessman follows through on his promise to visit the Bronx “while he is on top of the polls.” A delayed visit, he says, may not appear “sincere enough.”
Despite Trump’s pledge to “win the Latino vote” if he ends up securing the GOP nomination, a majority of Latino voters view the celebrity tycoon unfavorably.
According to one recent poll, 75 percent of Latino voters said they harbor negative views towards the former “Celebrity Apprentice” host. Trump will take center stage in Cleveland, Ohio tomorrow night for the first Republican primary debate, hosted by Fox News and Facebook.
