Donald Trump said Wednesday that he believes he will win the Latino vote, slamming Hillary Clinton for promoting what he called an immigration policy that would “let everybody come in… killers, criminals, drug dealers.”
“I have a great relationship with the Mexican people. I have many people working for me – look at the job in Washington – I have many legal immigrants working with me. And many of them come from Mexico. They love me, I love them,” the 2016 GOP contender said in an interview with NBC News. “And I’ll tell you something, if I get the nomination, I’ll win the Latino vote.”
Trump said that “there’s nothing to apologize for” in relation to his controversial comments about Mexico, arguing that he’ll win the support of Latinos because of his record creating jobs.
“Hillary Clinton is not going to be able to create jobs, I will tell you right now,” he said. “Neither is Jeb Bush going to be able to create jobs. I will create jobs and the Latinos will have jobs that they don’t have right now. And I will win that vote.”
He added that Hillary Clinton’s immigration policy would be to “let everybody come in… killers, criminals, drug dealers.”
“Hillary’s weak on immigration,” he said. “I might be divisive on immigration, but she’s weak on immigration, which is far worse."
"If you listen to Hillary, she is so weak on immigration, we will have a crime rate like you've never seen," he added.
Trump also labeled Clinton “the worst secretary of state in the history of our nation.”
“The world blew up around us,” he said of her tenure at the helm of the State Department.
The real estate mogul continued to state that he will build an "impenetrable" wall between the United States and Mexico and that he would "make" the Mexican government foot the bill.
"Mexico's making a fortune off the United States," he said. "I would get them to pay for the wall. Believe me."
Trump dismissed the idea that his business has been hurt by companies backing away from him as a result of his controversial comments. Macy's, Serta, NBC Universal and Univision have announced that they've severed business ties with him.
"This is too important. Yeah, I’m losing some contracts. Who cares?" he said. "They're weak and they want to be politically correct. Some of them have already apologized to me and said they made a mistake."
Trump was also asked about a Washington Post report that quoted undocumented immigrants working on his hotel project in Washington, D.C.
"We have a very strong system," he replied, saying that the newspaper did not reference any of the workers by name. "I have a contractor that is one of the biggest in the nation, they're doing it. So far, they're doing a very good job. We have a very strong verification system."
In a statement, Trump's campaign said:
Trump International Hotel, Washington DC has hired Lend Lease, a globally recognized construction management firm, to oversee construction at the Old Post Office and requires all contractors performing work at the project to follow all applicable federal, state and local laws. Our contractors are required to have prospective employees produce documentation that establishes identity and employment eligibility in compliance with immigration law. Lend Lease and the Trump Organization have worked on many large development projects together and have always used best in class practices above and beyond what is required by law."
Trump’s controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants came during his unscripted announcement speech last month.
“When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending the best,” he said during the speech. “They're not sending you, they're sending people that have lots of problems and they're bringing those problems. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime. They're rapists and some, I assume, are good people, but I speak to border guards and they're telling us what we're getting."
NBC Universal announced on June 29 that it was cutting ties with Trump as a result of the comments.
"At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values," NBC’s statement read. "Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBCUniversal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump."
NBC News is owned by NBC Universal.
