Just after Donald Trump announced his run for the White House on June 16, the candidate made a series of speeches that were controversial to say the least – particularly on America’s illegal immigrant problem and all the crime, social safety net costs and lost jobs associated with it.
When Trump was asked about how he would solve the nation’s illegal immigration problem, he led with his promise to build a steel reinforced concrete wall along every inch of the border with doors to let good people in and bad people out – something he affirmed again and again, without apology, and that he would make Mexico pay for it.
Trump’s message is simple – enforce the law.
With illegal aliens moving unchecked around the country… with rape, murder and other violent crimes at the hands of illegal immigrants on the rise… with the costs of supporting illegals through already broken social safety net programs… and unemployment rates that have hit black Americans particularly hard, Trump said he would enforce the law.
He would keep criminal aliens behind bars, crack down on businesses that hired illegals, cleanse the welfare rolls that draw illegal immigrants into the country, repeal the “anchor baby” loop hole that allows illegals to stay in the U.S. and crack down on “Sanctuary Cities” that provide safe harbor against deportation by the federal government.
For saying he will enforce the immigration laws already on the books, the professional Hispanic grievance industry – led by the National Council of La Raza – has called him a racist.
In the immediate aftermath of his comments, NBC said it had fired Donald Trump from The Celebrity Apprentice – something Trump denies because he quit the show to run for president. NBC also severed its relationship with Trump’s Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
Having scored a pyrrhic victory against Trump, Hispanic groups celebrated – until NBC stole their victory by asking Trump to host the coming November 7 episode of “Saturday Night Live” – one of the most prestigious gigs in show business.
Following the announcement, Latino groups demanded that NBC to disinvite Trump as an SNL host saying his “inflammatory” remarks about illegal immigrants when he announced his White House run made him unfit for decent company.
Meredith Blake, writing for the LA Times, reported the reaction from Hispanic groups saying:
“We are appalled that you would enable Trump’s hateful speech for nothing [more] than a ratings ploy,” the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 40 civil rights and policy organizations, said in a letter to “SNL” executive producer Lorne Michaels and NBCUniversal Chief Executive Stephen Burke.
“There’s no question that this issue has struck a nerve in the Latino community and beyond, and there is growing energy and intensity,” said Janet Murguía, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy organization.
What they couldn’t offer NBC in return for dumping Trump was the ratings bonanza NBC expects to harvest from Trump’s appearance in a business where audience reach is king.
When Trump appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on September 11, the show got its best Friday night ratings in 18 months. A few weeks later, Trump generated the biggest audience for CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” since its September 8 premiere.
While these other media appearances drew little controversy, Trump’s coming “Saturday Night Live” appearance has sparked anger because critics say it is nothing more than a “cynical ratings ploy” that could benefit his political campaign and potentially validate his views on immigration.
“‘SNL’ has become one of the most highly coveted platforms for candidates looking to connect with the American public,” Murguía said. “It’s appalling for a show to showcase a man whose campaign has been built on bigotry and demagoguery for the sake of buzz and ratings.”
