Donald Trump says he has wide support among Hispanics. Polls say otherwise.
New findings released this week by Gallup show that the GOP front-runner has the worst rapport with Hispanic voters of any candidate, Republican or Democrat.
Seventy-seven percent of Hispanics said they view Trump unfavorably. Only 12 percent said they perceive the businessman-turned-candidate favorably. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was the top Republican, at 32 percent favorability.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton received the best marks, with 59 percent of Hispanics saying they see her favorably and 26 percent viewing Clinton unfavorably.
Trump was also the candiate that Hispanic voters know most about. Eighty-five said they are familiar with Trump, whose name adorns hotels and casinos across the U.S. and who starred in NBC’s “The Apprentice” reality show before launching his campaign.
Even among the minority of Hispanic voters who identify as Republican, Gallup found that Trump is the only GOP candidate with a negative net favorability.
The findings of the new poll contradict Trump’s claims. The billionaire has insisted that his description of undocumented Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and his vows to deport all illegal immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a massive wall on the border have not alienated Hispanic-American voters.
During a visit to the Mexican border in July, Trump said that Hispanics “love” him.
Polls showed Trump won 44 percent of Hispanic Republicans in Nevada on Super Tuesday. He beat Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, who earned just 29 percent and 18 percent of Hispanics, respectively. But critics noted Hispanics make up just 9 percent of the electorate in the Silver State.
After winning the Nevada caucuses, Trump said he won the Hispanic vote “because they know I’m going to bring jobs back from China, from Japan, from so many other places.”
But Gallup said the results show that if Trump is the nominee, he will struggle to match even the 27 percent of the Hispanic vote former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won in the 2012 presidential election. Many Republicans concluded in 2012 that the party could not compete in presidential races without improving its standing with Hispanic voters, who make up a growing share of the electorate, especially in presidential swing states such as Nevada and Colorado.
“If Trump ends up being the GOP nominee, his unusually negative image among Hispanics could make it difficult for him to equal Romney’s 2012 share of the Hispanic vote,” Gallup said in an analysis. “In particular, this could present a challenge for Trump in key swing states where Hispanics are a sizable percentage of the electorate.”
The survey was conducted from Jan. 2 to March 8, with random samples of between 1,173 and 1,236 Hispanic adults and a 4 percent margin of error. Among those who identified as Hispanic Republicans, between 293 and 331 adults, there is a margin of error of 7 percent.
