Democratic Representative Vicente González, who currently holds the seat representing the 34th district of Texas, made a series of unfortunate comments this week to The New Republic newspaper in which he compared Latinos who support former President Donald Trump to Jews who support Hitler.
The Democratic congressman, who represents a district in southern Texas with a predominantly Hispanic electorate, was discussing the Republicans’ advance within the Latino vote and its extension in territories with greater Hispanic demographics.
“They have invested millions and millions of dollars trying to target Latinos on the border,” González said. “They do that because in Texas, Latinos are now the majority. The Republicans know how to count, right? For them to stay in power, even at the state level, they need to convince at least a percentage, even a small percentage, of Latinos to start voting Republican. If not, they will eventually lose elections.”
Finally, he made the controversial comparison between “Latinos for Trump” and “Jews for Hitler.”
“If they didn’t have that racist, divisive element within their party, they would have a lot of Latinos, but they can’t seem to shake that off. The rhetoric you hear from the Republican Party is shameful and disgraceful for Latinos. And you know, when you see ‘Latinos for Trump,’ to me it is like seeing ‘Jews for Hitler,’ almost, you know?” González said.
The Democratic congressman’s comparison was classified as “racist” by his Republican opponent, Mayra Flores, a Hispanic conservative star who will challenge him once again in the November elections.
“Vicente Gonzalez’s racist comments are incredibly hurtful to our entire Latino community,” Flores wrote on X (Twitter). “While he continues peddling in hate and division, I’m going to focus on policies that uplift our entire community, including lower costs, a secure border, safer communities and a focus on faith, family and more opportunities in South Texas.”
Vicente Gonzalez’s racist comments are incredibly hurtful to our entire Latino community. While he continues peddling in hate and division, I’m going to focus on policies that uplift our entire community, including lower costs, a secure border, safer communities and a focus on… pic.twitter.com/yPZbUjnXtr
— Mayra Flores Vallejo (@MayraFloresTX34) March 14, 2024
