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WASHINGTON — President Trump acknowledged Wednesday how hard it is to find the right balance on immigration — an issue important to his MAGA base but one that is turning off Hispanic voters.
“Frankly, it’s the hardest job that I’ve had,” he said about his dealings with the border. “The hardest job, because they’ll say you’re too tough or you’re too soft. Get tougher, get softer. No matter what you do.”
His unexpected admission came during an event for Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House and at a time Latinos are showing their frustration with his policies, leading to fears they won’t support Republicans in November’s midterm election.
Many feel the immigration crackdown has gone too far, but Trump defended his actions as a necessary reaction to the Biden presidency.
Noting that the leaders of South America are “smart,” Trump said they saw an open border policy under Joe Biden and “they emptied their prisons and they emptied their mental institutions, and they got rid of their drug dealers. They just sent them into our country. It was crazy.”
Trump received a record share of the Hispanic vote when he won his second term — but recent polling shows the group is getting turned off by his immigration and economic policies.
More than 65% said they are displeased with Trump’s job as president and 78% said they would prefer to see the Democratic Party in control of Congress, according to a September poll from the New York Times/Siena University.
Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant who’s an expert in Latino trends, told The Post of the president’s border policy that he “dramatically overreached and he’s going to pay for it politically.”
The economy, too, is a big concern, particularly gas prices.
Hispanic and Latino households spend an average of 3.93% of their income on fuel compared to 2.40% for non-Hispanic white Americans, mainly due to their blue-collar jobs in construction and other industries that require a lot of driving.
Immigrants also play a large role in the economy, often taking jobs that white laborers won’t. They are essential to many industries like housing, where foreign-born workers make up roughly 34% of the construction trades — and over 50% in states like California, New Jersey and Texas, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies in America.
The combination of dissatisfaction with the economy, gas prices and the immigration crackdown could lead to a Democratic wave in the November midterm election, particularly in the House of Representatives where Democrats only need to pick up four seats to take the majority.
“All of this is self-inflicted — as a result of the policies the president’s pursuing,” Madrid said. “Latinos know this; most will vote Democrat and some will stay home.”
The president appeared to acknowledge the fear at the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at the White House on Wednesday.
Telling the group they were smart about what he was doing, he said they knew that he only wanted to keep “bad people” from crossing over the border.
“You’re hardworking people. You’re smart as hell. You’re energetic. Sometimes too energetic. You’re incredible people, and I’ve loved you right from the beginning,” Trump said.
“You also know when I build a wall, I’m building a wall to keep bad people out, and you want those bad people kept out more than anybody.”
He pointed to his actions that have pleased the Hispanic community, including the US raid that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
He also had Secretary of State Marco Rubio — whose parents are Cuban — address the crowd, noting Rubio is the “highest-ranking Hispanic American in the history of our country.”
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Trump even hinted there could be action to come.
“His next job — I guess it’s not really next; it’s just a continuing — watch what he does with Cuba,” Trump said of his secretary of state. Many Hispanics would like to see the island’s communist regime overthrown.
The president also invited the group at the White House to tour his still-being constructed ballroom, and he ended his remarks with a plea.
“I just want to ask you to get out and vote,” he said. “You’re an unbelievable special group of people. You’ve been with me right from the beginning.”
“I’m not overly worried,” he repeated twice about the election, sounding worried.
“For some reason, presidents, Democrat or or Republican, they just don’t win the midterms. I don’t know why. There’s a deep psychological impact when you, for some reason. But we should,” he added. “We should win.”
