Actress America Ferrera has penned an open letter to Donald Trump in response to his controversial comments about Mexican immigrants. The outspoken former star of the television show “Ugly Betty” has two words for the Republican presidential candidate: “Thank you.”
“You see, what you just did with your straight talk was send more Latino voters to the polls than several registration rallies combined!” Ferrera wrote in a blog post published Thursday on Huffington Post. “Remarks like yours will serve brilliantly to energize Latino voters and increase turnout on election day against you and any other candidate who runs on a platform of hateful rhetoric,” she added.
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Ferrera has been an advocate for Latino causes and a prominent supporter of Democratic candidates for years. Her tongue-in-cheek post puts a unique spin on the uproar over Trump’s claims that “rapists” and “drug dealers” have entered the U.S. border illegally from Mexico. Trump has stubbornly stood by his remark, calling it “totally accurate,” and it hasn’t appeared to hurt his standing with the GOP electorate — recent polls show him ranked second among 2016 contenders. Still, Ferrera argues that Trump’s positions could hurt his party in the long run.
“The median age of the average Latino is 27 years old, compared to 42 years old for white Americans. In case you need a translation, that means there are a whole lot of Americans who are Latino and have the right to vote. And, we’re not going anywhere,” she wrote.
While numerous companies like Univision, Macy’s and msnbc’s parent company NBC Universal, have cut ties with Trump, his Republican brethren have largely stayed silent on his claims about undocumented immigrants. The exception to the rule has been his 2016 rival George Pataki. The former New York governor on Wednesday described Trump’s comments as “disrespectful,” and called on most of his fellow candidates to follow suit in denouncing the remarks. Trump responded on Twitter in usual form, firing back that Pataki “couldn’t be elected dog catcher if he ran again — so he didn’t!”
Meanwhile, as the erosion of Trump’s corporate support continues, Ferrera accuses him of “living in an outdated fantasy of a bigoted America.” After pointing out the various progressive triumphs of recent weeks, she wrote in more detail about why she’s grateful for figures like Trump — because they can be catalysts for change, albeit, unintentionally.
“Thank you for reminding us to not sit complacently at home on election day, but to run to the polls and proclaim that there is no place for your brand of racial politicking in our government,” she says to Trump. “Thank you for sending out the rallying cry.”
Adam Howard