Hispanic Vice-Mayor in Georgia Echoes Donald Trump's Lines on Race

LOGANVILLE, GA — Loganville councilman and vice-mayor Rey Martinez took the stage twice for Donald Trump on Monday, echoing the Republican presidential nominee's outreach message to minority voters.

Martinez spoke at a rally featuring GOP vice-presidential candidate and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence at the Cobb Energy Center, and one earlier in the day in Perry.

"Black, white, Hispanic, Muslim — Donald Trump is going to pick all of you up and make you believe in this country again," Martinez said at the Cobb County event. "I am the vice mayor of Loganville, one of the few elected Latino officials in the state of Georgia, and I am 100 percent behind Donald Trump."

In recent days, Trump has made a sometimes controversial pitch for minority voters, with whom his polling numbers have been routinely abysmal.

He has repeatedly called Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton a "bigot" who takes minority votes for granted and doesn't really care about minority voters themselves.

Trump has the lowest support among black voters in the history of the modern GOP with just 1 to 2 percent support, according to recent polls. He has similarly struggled with Hispanic voters, in part due to harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric including plans to forcibly deport all undocumented immigrants in the United States and build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

But Martinez, a U.S. Navy veteran and reservist and owner of Rey's Cuban Cafe in Loganville, argued that Trump's conservative policies would benefit everyone, particularly struggling minorities.

In doing so, he echoed a phrase Trump has been using in his own speeches.

"I have to ask you a question: Are you better off today than you were eight years ago?" Martinez said. "I've got six words for you: What do you have to lose?"

Martinez cited figures stating the number of Hispanics living in poverty has increased by 2.1 million under the Obama administration and that home ownership and median income have shrunk as well.

"You see what the other side can do for you," he said. "What do you have to lose?"

Politifact has labeled the 2.1 million claim, which Trump also uses, as "Half True." The fact-checking organization notes that the overall Hispanic population also has grown during Obama's tenure, meaning the poverty rate among Hispanics has been relatively stable.

In a news release, Martinez said he received a call last Wednesday from state Republican leaders asking if he was interested in speaking on Trump's behalf.

He is chairman of the state's Hispanics For Trump organization, as well as a member of the Georgia Commission For Equal Opportunity.

Martinez was invited to join Pence on the campaign trail again Tuesday but had another commitment, the release said.

"When I took the stage and was given the opportunity to speak on why I think Donald Trump and Mike Pence are the best option to lead this country, I did so with a great deal of pride," Martinez said in the news release.

"It is time for the Republican Party to unite and get behind our presidential candidate. And I hope that I did whatever I could to show that the Hispanic population in this great country has struggled under the Obama administration and it is time to make America great again by voting for Trump and Pence come Election Day."

Photos courtesy of City of Loganville