CNN
By MJ Lee
September 1, 2015
Donald
Trump met privately in New York on Tuesday with Javier Palomarez, the
CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, CNN has learned.
The
meeting took place at Trump's midtown Manhattan office in Trump Tower
and lasted more than an hour, Palomarez told CNN. The conversation
centered around immigration
and the Hispanic electorate.
"It's
kind of interesting, the dichotomy between the private Donald Trump and
the public Donald Trump. He listened a lot more than he spoke,"
Palomarez said. "He never
once interrupted me."
At one point, Palomarez said Trump joked that "he didn't need the Hispanic vote" as he referenced his high poll numbers.
"But I think we both know that he's recognized that in fact, he does need the Hispanic vote," Palomarez added.
He
said Trump earnestly expressed his desire to win over the Hispanic
community, saying: "I want it. I feel like I've been mischaracterized
and treated unfairly and my
name has been slandered to some extent with this audience."
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meeting took place but did not comment beyond that.
The
sit-down comes at a crucial time for Trump as many establishment
Republicans are concerned that the billionaire businessman's
controversial rhetoric about immigrants
might harm the party's outreach efforts to Latino voters. His tough
talk has dominated the campaign from day one, when he referred to some
immigrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico as "rapists" and
"criminals," to his more recent scuffle with Univision
anchor Jorge Ramos.
Palomarez
said Trump asked for his thoughts on the recent incident with Ramos,
who was ejected from a Trump event as he questioned the candidate about
immigration.
"I
told him that both sides were at fault," Palomarez told CNN. "On the
one hand, it appeared Jorge spoke out of term and somewhat commandeered
the microphone, and on
the other hand, this issue (of immigration) for Jorge Ramos is
considerably different for him than most other journalists in the room,
let's face it. And I think Donald could have done a better job of
hearing him out and allowing him an opportunity to ask
his questions."
Trump's
choice of words about Mexicans entering the country have sparked
outrage. And some of Trump's policy proposals aimed at curbing illegal
immigration -- such as
building a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and the mass
deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants currently residing in
the country -- have alarmed minority groups.
Earlier
this year, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce responded to Trump's
comments about Mexicans by announcing a boycott of all Trump brands and
properties. Palomarez
said that boycott will remain in place for the foreseeable future, even
after Trump floated the Trump National Doral resorts as the site of the
group's convention next year in Florida.
"He said are you considering Doral? And I said no, we're not," Palomarez said.
According
to the Chamber, Tuesday's meeting came at the Trump camp's request. The
group said Trump advisers expressed interest in clarifying in a private
setting what
they perceived to be the "media's mischaracterization" of Trump's views
on immigration.
Prior
to Tuesday's meeting, Palomarez said the Chamber was in clear
"disagreement" with the candidate on the issue of immigration, and that
Trump's proposals on immigration
would have devastating consequences.
"Frankly,
we don't think it is possible to round up 11.5 million people and in
any efficient fashion and escort them right out of the country. I just
don't see how logistically
you can make that happen," Palomarez said. "And let's say that you
could -- that would have a very negative economic impact and I think
Donald has discussed that enough."
Following
the meeting, Palomarez said they two men still did not see eye-to-eye
on immigration -- particularly on the logic behind a wall along the
Mexican border and
the impact of mass deportation of undocumented workers.
Still,
the the two men were able to have a "thoughtful conversation" about the
issue, Palomarez said. "There were no bombastic statements of any
sorts."
During
Tuesday's meeting, Trump also agreed to participate in a
question-and-answer forum with the Chamber, scheduled for October 8.
A
Gallup poll last week showed that 65% of Hispanics have an unfavorable
view of Trump, with eight in 10 saying they had formed an opinion of the
candidate.
Nevertheless, Trump has insisted on the campaign trail that he has many fans in the Hispanic community.
"I
love the Hispanic people," Trump said Saturday at an event hosted by
the National Federation of Republican Assemblies in Nashville,
Tennessee. "Incredible energy, incredible
people. I love the people."
On
Friday, Trump also met with the family members of victims killed by
illegal immigrants in Norwood, Massachusetts. He told CNN afterward that
there was "crime wave of
illegal immigrants" plaguing the country.
"There's a crime wave like nobody's ever seen before," he said. "We're not going to let it continue."
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