Donald Trump in 2012 said Republicans should pass immigration reform if they wanted to win another election.
“Immigration is very important and the Republicans have to get involved,” Trump said on Fox & Friends in Dec. 2012 in footage uncovered by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski. “Look, they’re never going to win another election unless they do something.”
Trump appeared to be taking a different position than the one he has campaigned on since announcing his candidacy last June. Over the past year, Trump has promised to build a wall along the U.S. and Mexico border and advocated for deporting undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.
Trump’s 2012 comments came after the Fox & Friends hosts asked whether immigration reform should be a top priority on President Obama’s agenda in 2013.
“It is a top priority, and the Republicans ought to take the lead,” Trump said at the time. “They have to get smart. They cannot have what happened to them with immigration and other issues sabotage their elections.”
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Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com