Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said Sunday on CNN's “State of the Union” that Democrats tend to “surround themselves with people who affirm what they already believe.” spoke.
Host Jake Tapper said: As you know, Donald Trump didn't win the Latino vote, but he did better than any Republican presidential candidate in history. According to CNN exit polls, 55% of Latino men voted for him. This is a 19 point difference compared to four years ago. You said Democrats need to “touch grass and meet real Latinos.” What does that mean?
“I think Democrats often surround themselves with people who affirm what they already believe, or people who have the same background as them, right?” Gallego said. There are a lot of Ivy League candidates who hire Ivy League Latinos who aren't actually from working class backgrounds. Most Latinos are actually working class, and sometimes we don't want to hear what they have to say. ”
He added: “I had the benefit of growing up in a working-class family. My mother was a secretary and my father was a carpenter. Growing up, my whole family was working-class. Even if there was, we actually have a large Latino family as well, so I'm actually very knowledgeable about what's going on there. We don't want to hear bad news. In terms of the community's opinion on the economy, I think I knew many times that there was something wrong with the Latino community, because I was very connected to the economy. I guess I didn't want to hear what was going on.”
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