Republican presidential contender Donald Trump on Friday declared the “silent majority is back!” in an echo of President Richard Nixon’s Vietnam-era appeal to overlooked Americans, as his GOP rivals struggled for traction in a race dominated by the billionaire businessman.
The New Yorker headed South to Alabama, where interest in the candidate forced organizers to move a planned rally from the Mobile Civic Center, which holds about 2,000 people, to Ladd-Peebles Stadium, a 40,000-seat football stadium. The Alabama secretary of state’s office said more than 30,000 were expected to attend the event Friday night.
Trump tweeted: “We are going to have a wild time in Alabama tonight! Finally, the silent majority is back!”
During the height of the Vietnam War, Nixon sought the backing of the “silent majority,” widely considered to be Americans who stood behind the Republican president and weren’t getting the attention that protesters attracted. Trump has derided elected officials and cast his candidacy as an outsider’s bid.
Before his appearance, Trump went after his rivals, particularly former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and stepped up his criticism of immigrants living in the country illegally.
“How crazy – 7.5% of all births in U.S. are to illegal immigrants, over 300,000 babies per year. This must stop. Unaffordable and not right!” he said on Twitter.
Earlier this week, Trump said he wanted to end “birthright citizenship” for children of immigrants here illegally, rescind Obama administration executive orders on immigration and expand deportation, allowing only “the good ones” to return through an expedited process.
Native-born children of immigrants — even of those living illegally in the U.S. — have been automatically considered U.S. citizens since the adoption of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment in 1868.
Trump has used the term “anchor babies,” which some immigrants consider derogatory.
Bush has said he believes there should be greater enforcement against pregnant women who cross the border to have children who then gain U.S. citizenship. But he said people born in the country should have American citizenship.
“His massive inconsistencies aside, @realDonaldTrump’s immigration plan is not conservative and does not reflect our nation’s values,” Bush wrote.
(AP)
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4 Responses
By 21st century standards, Nixon would be considered a “RINO”. He was for big government, Keynesian economics, against sound money, and strongly supported ethnic diversity (even if in private he made off color ethnic jokes). Unlike Trump (or Bush), Nixon was born in poverty and worked his way up. Unlike Trump (and most of the other Republicans running this year), Nixon served honorably in the military.
Want America’s conservatives to vote?
You get christian control freaks who support the idiots!
By 21st century standards Barry Goldwater would be considered a RINO.
During his senate service he was called Mr. Conservative, and although I disagreed with almost all of his political views, I had more respect for him than any other politician of his time or since.
First they came for the Communists and I kept quiet, then they came for the jews and i kept quiet, then they came for me and there was no one to speak for me…-Boenhoffer speaking about the Nazis YMS.
And now, this….
First, they will deport the Hispanics and we kept quiet, then they came to expel the Asians and we kept quiet, then they came to throw us , the Jews,out, and there was no one to speak on our behalf……