STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Surveys show majorities of minority voters supporting Hillary Clinton. The question, though, is by what margin they'll do that and also how many show up or don't. Our next two guests are following this closely from opposite sides. A.J. Delgado goes first. She wrote an article called "Why Latinos Should Vote For Trump," and she is now a Trump adviser. Welcome to the program.
A J DELGADO: Thank you for having me.
INSKEEP: Why do you suppose some surveys show Trump losing Latinos by as many as 50 points?
DELGADO: Well, Latinos traditionally, as a bloc, tend to vote Democratic, so it's no surprise that Mr. Trump isn't winning a majority of Latino; same as he wouldn't be winning a majority of African-Americans. I think the bigger story here is the inroads that Mr. Trump and the Trump campaign has been able to make both within the Latino community and the African-American community.
INSKEEP: But let's talk about that for a second because losing by as many as 50 points - and granted, there are some surveys that don't show it quite that bad - I mean, he's doing a lot worse than Republicans did a decade ago, say, with the Latino vote.
DELGADO: Well, what survey are you referring to, if I may ask? I'm not familiar with the number you're referring.
INSKEEP: This would be an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, which is from mid-October, and you can just do a google search and go find a bunch of others. I mean, there's a lot of surveys that show double-digit, huge deficits for Donald Trump among Latinos.
DELGADO: I could also show you an LA Times poll that has Latino support for Mr. Trump in the mid 30s, which is already higher than Mitt Romney received and then John McCain received. The bigger story is the fact that Hillary Clinton has hemorrhaged the Latino support. Barack Obama earned 71 percent of the Latino vote in 2012. Hillary Clinton is polling in the 50s. Yet, I don't hear the media...
INSKEEP: OK.
DELGADO: ...Asking, with all due respect, why that is.
INSKEEP: Oh, I think people have reported the LA Times survey, which is a tracking poll that many pollsters have found to be flawed, but it's the LA Times. I mean, it's there. Let me just ask you, though - Las Vegas...
DELGADO: But there was also Gallup - I'm sorry - 29 percent...
INSKEEP: OK.
DELGADO: ...About a month ago, favorability.
INSKEEP: OK. OK. In Las Vegas yesterday, Secretary Clinton said - and this is a quote - "if Trump wins, we'd have a president who doesn't see you" - Latinos she means - "as American," which is harsh. But Trump did literally say that an American judge of Mexican descent could not do his job as a judge because he's, quote, "Mexican." Is there something to Secretary Clinton's argument here?
DELGADO: Well, it's a shame the media's still misreporting that Mr. Trump said that he couldn't do his job because he was Mexican. Mr. Trump expressed concern that the judge may have had some sort of personal animus or concerns about Mr. Trump based on Mr. Trump's plan to build a wall. And sure, I suppose that's related to his being Mexican and the fact that the judge was also a member of an organization that had boycotted Mr. Trump over his views on the wall. So no, he never said it was because of his Mexican heritage.
Obviously, he has a Latino adviser, so he does not cast any aspersions on our talents but rather is a firm believer in them. He never has said that in any way, and I'm sad to see that the media's still reporting it that way.
INSKEEP: Well, he did describe him as Mexican and say that he was biased against him. But I will take your point there. I'm just curious. Do you think the Republican Party is positioned where it needs to be with Latino voters in the future?
DELGADO: Yes because our number one issue is not immigration. It's jobs and the economy. And, for instance, the Republican Party has always, in my opinion, had the best plan for jobs, trade, the economy, especially under Mr. Trump who's looking to bring back those manufacturing jobs we've lost - 2 million since the year 2000 - I'm sorry 5 million - and actually has a plan laid out for us. Hillary Clinton has no plan. And let's not forget also when we talk about what she has said or what he has said about the Latino community, Hillary Clinton is somebody who recently said as far as - as recently as two years ago said that children fleeing violence in Central America should be sent back. She also once said she was adamantly opposed to illegal immigrants - not the illegal immigration itself; worse yet, the illegal immigrants. So I find it funny the 180 reversal she has made in pandering. That's the one thing she does best.
INSKEEP: A.J. Delgado, thanks very much.
DELGADO: Thank you.
INSKEEP: She is an adviser to Donald Trump's campaign. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.