Alfonso Aguilar, who had been one of Donald Trump's key Latino supporters, said Friday he's backing away because the GOP candidate has not moved more to the center with his stance on immigration.
"During the primary I denounced Donald Trump," Aguilar, the president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "Once he becomes the nominee, as a conservative who is very afraid of Hillary Clinton becoming president, I felt I had the responsibility of trying to work with the campaign and seeing there was an opening to move Donald Trump to the center on immigration."
As recent as last week, Aguilar said, there was a "real chance" Trump could pivot to the center, but Sen. Jeff Sessions and other allies worked on his tough Wednesday speech.
"His Hispanic supporters, and you have at least six of his Hispanic advisers resigning," said Aguilar. "I wasn't a part of the board or a surrogate but I had to withdraw my campaign. I cannot be part of a message that says we have to return to pre-1965 immigration levels."
Now, Aguilar is torn about how he's going to vote, but he won't vote for Trump or Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
"It's very important for Latinos to come out and vote," said Aguilar. "You go out and you vote. A ballot is a valid vote. It is an expression. You can also write somebody in."
However, he said he's also not satisfied with Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson or Green Party nominee Jill Stein, but at the same time, he's frustrated when he hears from the Clinton camp that she is the only alternative to Trump.
"I don't trust her in immigration either," said Aguilar. "Hillary Clinton was calling for a immediate removal of minors coming from Central America. It is a bad choice for America and bad choice for Latinos, a very difficult election."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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