Ileana Garcia has what arguably could be the toughest mission on the Donald Trump campaign – getting Latinos to warm up to him. Garcia, a Cuban-American from South Florida, said she will be the Trump campaign’s liaison with the Republican National Committee regarding Latinos and outreach efforts targeting the community.
Garcia grabbed national headlines due to a group she founded, “Latinas for Trump”. She is now the real estate mogul’s new communications director for Latino outreach and is well aware of the hot seat that she is occupying. She says she got a taste of it when she started “Latinas for Trump,” and was hit with all kinds of backlash. “People said to me ‘You’re crazy, you’re going to burn bridges,’” Garcia said as she sat in the cavernous convention hall at Quicken Loan Arena. “I’ve been called a racist, I’ve had death threats. People have told me I’m black-listed from certain jobs, certain work.”
Garcia is well aware of the comments that Trump has made, of his declaration of war against illegal immigration, of his infamous remarks about how he doubts the federal judge presiding over the Trump University fraud case can’t be objective because of his Mexican heritage. The comments enraged many Latinos, and even Republican leaders who already worried about Trump’s alienation of Latino voters.
Garcia says she hears Trump’s comments differently, and says that people are putting the wrong frame around Trump’s statements. “I know he comes across sometimes as rough,” Garcia said. “But we’ve had eight years of political correctness. He’s like a parent, when parents want to get their point across, they yell. That’s what he’s doing.” When she got summoned to join the Trump campaign, she was beside herself, she said. “I told my son ‘After you, this is the best thing that’s happened to me,’” she said.
She knows she has her work cut out for her. Garcia said Latinos who came here legally shouldn’t be offended by Trump’s denunciation of those who did not. “He seems to have good intentions,” Garcia said, adding that she is looking forward to personally meeting the candidate soon.
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