Trump Will Not Pick Woman Or Person Of Color As Running Mate, Adviser Says
After Democrats defeated Republicans in the presidential election in 2012, it was clear that the Republican Party needed to reach out to women and voters of color, who twice helped deliver the presidency to Barack Obama.
Republicans then came up with a plan to improve the Party’s relationships with women and voters of color, including setting up outreach workers in cities across the nation and spending thousands on organizing efforts.
Then along came Donald Trump, who declared his Republican presidential candidacy by threatening to build a wall along Mexico to stamp out illegal immigration. And last week, he won enough delegates to clinch the Republican Party’s nomination ahead of the convention next month.
But he is unlikely to pick a woman or someone from a minority group as his vice presidential running mate because, well, that would be “pandering,” says his advisor Paul Manafort, according to USA Today:
Manafort’s comments come two days after Trump attacked New Mexico Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, someone who has been described as a GOP rising star.
Martinez is the first Hispanic female governor and boasts high popularity in her state. Her name has been thrown around as a potential vice presidential pick for Trump. She has said she’s not interested and hasn’t endorsed Trump at this point, either.
Manafort did say Trump would change one thing — his tone on Muslims.
As if attacking Martinez was not enough, on Monday, a Trump spokeswoman insulted a judge overseeing his Trump University fraud case, saying the judge’s Hispanic heritage and membership in a Latino lawyers association would affect his ability to judge the case.
U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel “ruled parts of internal documents, including ‘playbooks’ regarding running the enterprise, should be released as part of a lawsuit against Trump University, which operated from 2005 to 2010,” according to CNN:
Appearing on CNN’s “New Day,” spokeswoman Katrina Pierson criticized Curiel for being a member of the La Raza Lawyer’s Association, which is a leading Latino lawyers group in California. Curiel is a member of the organization’s San Diego chapter.
“I think what’s really interesting about this particular judge — as Mr. Trump refers to him as a ‘Trump hater’ — is he even mentions on his judicial questionnaire that he was a La Raza Lawyers Association member,” Pierson said, apparently referring to the questionnaire Curiel filled out when his confirmation was being considered by the Senate. “This is an organization that has been out there organizing anti-Trump protesters with the Mexican flags — they are pushing it. The signs have been very apparent. And so Mr. Trump is just stating the obvious.”
CNN has reached out to the La Raza Lawyers Association’s national office and the San Diego chapter, but calls were not immediately returned.
Perhaps, Republicans can win in 2020 when they have a better candidate. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
SOURCE: USA Today, CNN | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty
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