A top aide says Donald Trump was merely celebrating Cinco de Mayo when he shared an image of his taco salad on social media.
“I don’t think he was stereotyping an ethnic group at all,” convention manager Paul Manafort said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
{mosads}“It was a holiday for the Hispanic community, and I thought he thought it was in the spirit of the holiday.”
The presumptive GOP presidential nominee on Thursday posted an image of himself grinning over a taco salad.
“Happy Cinco de Mayo!” the photo’s caption said. “The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower. I love Hispanics!”
“A lot of people thought it was very humorous, and they also thought it was an acknowledgement by Trump that he recognizes a day that is important to the Hispanic community.”
Sens. Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.), among other Democrats, greeted the picture with mocking disbelief later that day.
Trump on Friday defended his meal, arguing that it had received overwhelmingly positive feedback on social media.
“You know I had — that was as of yesterday — 59,000 retweets,” he said on “Fox & Friends.” “That’s like almost gotta be some kind of record. People loved it.”
The chairman of the Republican National Committee, meanwhile, on Friday said that the moment shows Trump is making overtures to Hispanic voters.
“He’s trying,” Reince Priebus said to laughter. “Honestly, he’s trying, and I’ll tell you what — I honestly think he understands that building, growing and unifying the party is the only way we are going to win.”