Uncle Donald Ruins the Party

Donald Trump’s actions — and their consequences — within the financial and political world of the United States remind me of Alberto, a good friend from middle school. Besides being a great soccer player and being able to tell jokes really well, he had a really nice family. I liked going to his house on Saturdays because those events were almost always unpredictable. The main entertainer was one of his uncles; if memory serves me right, his name was Jorge. Since birth, Uncle Jorge had been a rowdy man. He was famous for making annoying jokes and for wanting to be the center of attention. But he was also a creative person, full of curious stories that made him an interesting person, particularly for us youngsters.

I remember one Saturday afternoon when Jorge took us somewhere to light up firecrackers, jumping jacks and other kinds of fireworks he had bought at the market. At some point, he decided to throw a white rocket at one of his sisters, who was walking through the garden below the roof we were on. I still remember the poor woman as she jumped. But I remember even more my friend’s words after I confessed to him at the end of the evening how much I envied him and how much I wanted to have an uncle like his. “You’re crazy,” he told me. “It’s nice to have him as a friend, but you can’t imagine how hard it is to put up with him every weekend.”

It’s been about a month since Trump unleashed his hurricane of bizarre comments about Mexican immigrants; now, he’s become the Republican Party’s Uncle Jorge: a true headache — the irritating, exasperating loudmouth who makes everyone feel awkward. Even worse — and recalling the Republicans’ main objective — he’s the uncle who could rob Republicans of the presidency itself.

The Republican Party is used to dealing with candidates who emerge from its radical fringes. In the last electoral rounds, it had to deal with true lunatics who defended agendas that were not just irrational, but absurd. From Tom Tancredo — the godfather of anti-immigration congressmen and congresswomen — to Michelle Bachman, the ultraconservative Sen. Rick Santorum and Sarah Palin herself, Republicans know that, at least during the primaries, it’s difficult to prevent ridiculous ideas from popping up here and there. Their hope is that once things get serious, those radical candidates will lose steam. The Republican Party’s internal mechanisms, its fundraising process and voters themselves have done the job of eliminating such lunatics, thereby preventing further damage. The problem here is that Trump shows no desire to leave the stage. He has enough money to stay in the race for as long as he wants (he could finance himself without any problems), and he’s even starting to believe in his chances after — incredible as it may sound — the latest polls have him neck and neck with Jeb Bush (the overwhelming favorite) among Republican voters. In other words, Uncle Donald is convinced about his charms, and it doesn’t seem like he’s leaving the party any time soon.

The fact that Trump is staying in the race is horrible news for the Republican Party, especially with regard to its goal of getting closer to Hispanic voters. As I explained here a few weeks ago, Republicans are facing next year’s election with renewed energy and fresh ideas in order to entice Latinos. In place of actual accomplishments, the party and a few billionaire sponsors developed a smart and ambitious plan called the LIBRE Initiative. It’s headed by Mexican-American Daniel Garza, a serious, presentable and smart man. LIBRE attempts to draw Hispanics toward conservative interests by organizing workshops and community meetings in key states. It’s a sensible strategy: The friendliness and practical help it provides are working, especially when we consider that many Hispanics must deal with insecurity. Yet none of these efforts will be fruitful if Trump insists on spoiling the party.

The danger is evident. A few weeks before the first Republican primary debate takes place, Trump hasn’t lowered his rhetoric, not even a notch. On the contrary, he was in Los Angeles on Friday — the most Hispanic city in the USA — and had the audacity (a different word would be more appropriate) to insist that immigrants represent the scum of their respective native countries. Outside, at least 200 people protested against him, hitting piñatas that looked like him. Yesterday, after Joaquín Guzmán’s prison escape, Trump again launched an attack against Mexico. The truth is that at this moment, the Republicans’ rapport with Latinos is not being defined by the party’s strategists, who know full well how important it is to stop antagonizing the Hispanic constituency. Instead, the strategy is being written every day by Donald Trump, the crazy uncle. And as my friend Alberto would say, having him in the family is turning out to be a nightmare.