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Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) criticized his fellow GOP presidential hopefuls for pandering to Hispanics and asserted Tuesday that those watching Sunday’s Spanish-language debate are unlikely to vote. Tancredo is the only GOP candidate who skipped the Univision debate that was simulcast in Spanish. He blasted his colleagues for appearing, saying the only audience that matters is people who speak English. “If they can’t understand the English language, then, of course, they shouldn’t be citizens,” Tancredo said on Fox News. “They shouldn’t be voting. And we shouldn’t be pandering to them.” The lawmaker raised the question of to whom such a Spanish-language debate is supposed to appeal. “Supposedly, not the people that are going to vote at all, because if you are a citizen in this country, if you’re an immigrant who has come here and has become a citizen and therefore [is] eligible to vote, you’re supposed to, by law, know and can comprehend the English language,” Tancredo said. He argued that there is no other group that candidates are pandering to in the same way. “We would not usually conduct a debate, in this country, in anything other than English, but we’re going to do it here because ... there is a selective group that we’re going to, quote, ‘pander to,’ ” he added. Tancredo also claimed that both Democratic and Republican candidates softened their stance on illegal immigration in the debate. The Colorado Republican has acknowledged that he is a long-shot candidate but has promised to continue to keep the heat on other candidates when it comes to illegal immigration and border security, which are his signature issues. |
