Presumptive Republican bet Donald Trump wants Hispanics to know he “loves” them. SCREENGRAB FROM TRUMP’S TWITTER ACCOUNT
WASHINGTON—Thursday was hardly the pinnacle of Latino outreach for Donald Trump.
The presumptive US Republican presidential frontrunner celebrated the Cinco de Mayo holiday, which commemorates Mexican resistance, by posting a photograph of himself tucking into a taco bowl and proclaiming “I love Hispanics!”
Hispanic-Americans represent an increasingly important voting bloc in the United States.
But polls show about three quarters of them hold unfavorable views of the billionaire, who insulted Mexican immigrants last year by branding some of them “rapists” and other criminals.
READ: Trump says he will win Hispanic vote despite immigrant storm
He has also vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and build a wall along the Mexican border in order to stem illegal immigration and drug flows.
Trump’s post on Twitter and Facebook, the latest in a long list of awkward postings during the 11 months of his campaign, did wish his millions of followers a “Happy #CincoDeMayo!”
It was downhill from there.
“The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!” Trump wrote, above a photo of the grinning real estate tycoon holding a forkful of his meal, which he appeared to be eating at a desk.
The dish before him, also known as a taco salad, with a flour tortilla shell, originated in the United States.
Hillary Clinton, the Democrat likely to face Trump in the general election in November, weighed in within minutes of the taco tweet.
The former secretary of state cited Trump’s apparent love for Hispanics while also quoting him from his NBC interview a day earlier, in which he said “they’re gonna be deported.”
READ: Trump effigy set ablaze in Mexico Easter ritual
She also added a tweet in Spanish, saying Trump’s foreign policy was “irresponsible.”
Others offered a more light-hearted critique of The Donald — who was bound for West Virginia later Thursday for a campaign rally — including none other than 2015 Miss West Virginia Andrea Mucino.
“You’re not eating taco bowls from New York because you’re in WV today, Cinco De Mayo isn’t a Hispanic holiday it’s a Mexican one, and you are the same color as the taco bowl shell. But I digress!” the beauty queen wrote on Facebook.