WASHINGTON — President Trump conceded Wednesday that navigating immigration policy is extraordinarily difficult, as an issue central to his MAGA supporters increasingly risks alienating Hispanic voters.
“Frankly, it’s the hardest job that I’ve had,” Trump said of his approach to the border. “The hardest job, because they’ll say you’re too tough or you’re too soft. Get tougher, get softer. No matter what you do.”
The unusually candid remarks came at a White House Hispanic Heritage Month event, amid growing Latino dissatisfaction with Trump’s policies and mounting concern among Republicans that the discontent could hurt the party in November’s midterm elections.
Many Hispanic voters believe the administration’s immigration crackdown has gone too far. Trump, however, argued that his measures were a necessary response to the policies of former President Joe Biden.
Trump said South American leaders were “smart” because, in his account, they recognized Biden’s border as open and “they emptied their prisons and they emptied their mental institutions, and they got rid of their drug dealers. They just sent them into our country. It was crazy.”
Trump won a record percentage of the Hispanic vote when he secured a second term, but recent surveys indicate that his immigration and economic agendas are weakening his support among the group.
More than 65% of respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s performance, while 78% said they wanted Democrats to control Congress, according to a September New York Times/Siena University poll.
Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant and specialist in Latino voting trends, told The Post that Trump had “dramatically overreached” on border policy and “is going to pay for it politically.”
Economic pressures are also weighing heavily on Hispanic voters, with gasoline prices emerging as a particular concern.
Hispanic and Latino households devote an average of 3.93% of their income to fuel, compared with 2.40% among non-Hispanic white households. The gap is largely tied to the prevalence of blue-collar work in construction and other fields that require extensive driving.
Immigrants are also deeply embedded in the US economy, frequently filling jobs that white workers are less willing to take. Their role is especially visible in housing: Foreign-born workers account for about 34% of the construction workforce, rising above 50% in states including California, New Jersey and Texas, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies in America.
Anger over the economy and fuel costs, combined with opposition to the immigration crackdown, could produce a Democratic surge in November, particularly in the House. Democrats need to gain only four seats to win the majority.
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“All of this is self-inflicted — as a result of the policies the president’s pursuing,” Madrid said. “Latinos know this; most will vote Democrat and some will stay home.”
Trump appeared to recognize those concerns during Wednesday’s Hispanic Heritage Month gathering at the White House.
He told attendees that they understood his intentions, insisting that his goal was to prevent “bad people” from entering the country.
“You’re hardworking people. You’re smart as hell. You’re energetic. Sometimes too energetic. You’re incredible people, and I’ve loved you right from the beginning,” Trump said.
“You also know when I build a wall, I’m building a wall to keep bad people out, and you want those bad people kept out more than anybody.”
Trump also highlighted steps he said had earned support within the Hispanic community, including the US raid that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
He invited Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban, to speak to the gathering and described him as the “highest-ranking Hispanic American in the history of our country.”
Trump also suggested that further action could be forthcoming.
“His next job — I guess it’s not really next; it’s just a continuing — watch what he does with Cuba,” Trump said of his secretary of state. Many Hispanics would like to see the island’s communist regime overthrown.
The president also invited the group at the White House to tour his still-being constructed ballroom, and he ended his remarks with a plea.
“I just want to ask you to get out and vote,” he said. “You’re an unbelievable special group of people. You’ve been with me right from the beginning.”
“I’m not overly worried,” he repeated twice about the election, sounding worried.
“For some reason, presidents, Democrat or or Republican, they just don’t win the midterms. I don’t know why. There’s a deep psychological impact when you, for some reason. But we should,” he added. “We should win.”