Donald Trump's use of the term "anchor babies" to describe kids born to illegal immigrants in the United States is an "insulting" slur — another "outrageous" position by the billionaire developer that is "disastrous" for Republicans, former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson tells
Newsmax TV.
"It's insulting. It's unconstitutional what he wants to do. He is addicted to attention and unfortunately he's getting a lot of attention because of outrageous positions," Richardson, whose parents are of Mexican heritage, said Thursday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
"[Positions] like repealing that 14th Amendment on the 'anchor babies,' like creating a fence [at the U.S.-Mexico border], like deporting thousands and millions of people."
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And Richardson, a Democrat, said that ensures that Hispanic voters — 11 percent of the U.S. population, or 28 million people — are going to remember what Trump, the GOP frontrunner, is saying and what other Republican candidates who are "coddling up to him" are saying.
"What's going to happen is he's going to be like Mitt Romney who ended up with a low 20 percent of the vote of the Latino vote in states like New Mexico, Colorado, Florida — crucial states. This is disastrous for the Republican Party, but they're tolerating it," Richardson said.
Asked by Malzberg about how the 14th Amendment — which refers to slaves becoming citizens — translates to pregnant women coming across border, Richardson said:
"The Congress has respected that 14th Amendment, basically saying that children that are born in this country are American citizens, that's a birthright. That's something that no Congress has challenged.
"Maybe there's a fringe in the Republican Party, like Trump, that are challenging this, but … 75 percent of the American people think there should be legal status for the 11 million that are here illegally as long as they observe certain conditions.
"Like pay a fine for coming here illegally, like passing a background check, like learning American values, like many other requirements. That's where the American people are. The American people are in the center, they're moderate, the have a tremendous amount of respect for this country, they're kind."
He said Trump may be topping the polls and drawing huge crowds at his campaign stops, "but you know in the end, polls, press, and big crowds don't mean votes in the voting booth. Trump has no organization.
"He has all these people flapping around that like him and that's about it. In Iowa, it's a caucus, its Nevada it's a caucus, you've got to organize."
So how will Trump fare in the coming months?
"You're going to see this guy flaming out. That would be in the best interest of the American people and the Republican Party — if they listen," said Richardson, who also served as the U.S. secretary of Energy.
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