USA Today: Padilla urges Americans ‘a votar’ in midterms in Spanish rebuttal
By Rebecca Morin
Democrats want Spanish-speaking voters to focus on one thing: A votar.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, shortly after President Donald Trump’s winding State of the Union speech, issued his own rebuttal in Spanish.
During his remarks on Feb. 24, Padilla called Trump a liar, referring to his comments on grocery, rent and electric costs, and criticized the president’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement. But the biggest threat from Trump, Padilla said, is that he’s “trying to steal” the midterm elections happening this year.
“Trump wants to manipulate the next elections,” Padilla said in Spanish, before adding in English: “That’s right, Donald Trump is trying to steal the midterm elections.”
“Recuerda el daño que ha causado Trump y salgan este noviembre a votar,” Padilla said in Spanish, or in English: “Remember the damage Trump has caused and go out and vote this November.”
Padilla said that Trump signed executive orders that are intended to prevent millions of eligible voters from casting their ballots. The president last year signed an executive order that sought to add a requirement to show a passport or similar document proving citizenship when registering to vote, which got struck down by the courts.
Padilla also said Trump has suggested using immigration agents, including those from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, at polling places. The White House has denied plans to deploy ICE agents to polling sites, according to Reuters.
Trump attempted to overturn his 2020 election loss and repeatedly cast doubt on those election results despite no proof. In recent weeks, the president has said he wants to “nationalize” voting and has preemptively accused some states of being “crooked” ahead of the midterm elections this year.
“That is why I ask you something clear and urgent: Prepare, starting today, for your voice to reverberate this November,” Padilla said in Spanish, adding that voters have a “very clear choice: between division or unity, between lies or the truth, between chaos or capability.”
Padilla, the first Latino senator from California, became nationally recognized last year after he was tackled and handcuffed by Department of Homeland Security agents during a press conference for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem amid mass protests in Los Angeles due to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
In his rebuttal, the senator also referenced Bad Bunny, who made history as the first Super Bowl halftime show headliner to perform almost exclusively in Spanish. Bad Bunny’s performance faced backlash from Trump and other conservatives who criticized the show for being in Spanish and for the Reggaeton superstar’s dancing.
“Como Bad Bunny nos recordó hace unas semanas: ‘Juntos, somos América,'” Padilla said, which means: “As Bad Bunny reminded us a few weeks ago: ‘Together, we are America.’”
“Together, we excel, because our faith is much stronger than any disappointment or obstacle, including Trump,” Padilla continued in Spanish. “And together, we will build the future our children deserve.”
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