In a speech at the National Council of La Raza in Kansas City, the Democratic frontrunner for the presidential nomination expressed her displeasure with the Republican candidate and real estate mogul’s invectives against Mexican immigrants, many of whom Trump said are “drug dealers” and “rapists.”
“It was appalling to hear Donald Trump describe immigrants as drug dealers, racists and criminals,” Clinton said. “He’s talking about people you and I know. He’s talking about people who love this country, work hard and want nothing more than a chance to build a better life for themselves and this country.”
“When people and businesses everywhere rejected his hateful comments, did he apologize? No, he doubled down,” she continued.
Hillary Clinton punctuated her point with Spanish.
“I have just one word for Donald Trump: Basta! Enough!”
The candidate for president posted the section of her speech that referred to the controversial Republican candidate on her Twitter, along with a clear message.
Clinton has embraced immigration reform as one of the major goals of her would-be presidency, saying she supports a full path to citizenship for undocumented immigrations and would take executive actions that go farther than President Obama’s to protect the undocumented from deportation.
Trump has been a headache for Republican leadership, which is struggling to appeal both to conservative primary voters and reach out to new Hispanic immigrants. Much of the Republican field of candidates has condemned him.
If she wins the primary, Hispanics will be a key demographic for Clinton in a general election, and the Clinton campaign has often used Spanish in its messaging. Monday’s speech, however, was especially to the point.
See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos
Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. APLaw School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972. They married in 1975.Clinton Presidential LibraryMother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980.Donald R. Broyles—APCampaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982.APArkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—APPolitical Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991.Danny Johnston—APDignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992.Chris Ocken—APCampaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992.Bill Sikes—APFirst Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—APSecond-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—CorbisNew York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—CorbisCommittee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—CorbisCandidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—CorbisCampaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—CorbisSecretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—CorbisWitness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—CorbisWitness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013.J. Scott Applewhite—APAuthor: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—CorbisGrandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014.Office of President Clinton/APOnce and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis
