Donald Trump tries to court minorities at Florida rally
Donald Trump rallied in politically-pivotal central Florida on Wednesday, saying “I think we are doing really great with minority voters,” about his new minority outreach.
Trump is trailing in Florida by five points in the latest CBS News poll. Part of the problem is soft support from Hispanic and African American voters, reports CBS News’ Major Garrett.
He is trying to fix that problem by retooling his immigration message, which has been controversial since day one of his campaign.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he famously said last summer.
During a televised townhall on Tuesday, Trump backed away from repeated pledges to deport all undocumented immigrants.
“There certainly can be a softening because we’re not looking to hurt people,” he said. But that clashes with Trump’s earlier emphasis on mass deportation.
In a 60 Minutes interview with Scott Pelley from September 2015, Trump said he planned on rounding up illegal immigrants in the United States “in a very humane way, in a very nice way.”
“They’re gonna be happy because they want to be legalized,” he continued. “And by the way, I know it doesn’t sound nice, but not everything is nice.”
Now Trump says he’ll limit deportation orders to criminals without documentation.
His running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, still sounds tougher -- suggesting a split within the ticket.
Asked if Trump’s plan means deporting 11 million people, Pence said “I think it means upholding the laws of this country, and enforcing the laws.”
Trump’s immigration plans remain vague and hard to pin down. So too is the strategy behind campaigning in reliably red Mississippi, when Trump trails in so many battleground states.