Actress Eva Longoria takes on Newt Gingrich over ‘poor children’ remarks

Actress Eva Longoria, a prominent Obama supporter, blasted Newt Gingrich for his comments on the work habits of poor children.

Longoria took to her twitter account Saturday afternoon to criticize the former speaker, writing: “@newtgingrich you clearly know little about the Latina community, Latina entrepreneurs who start businesses at 6 times the national average.”

{mosads}She was referring to comments Gingrich made in Iowa Thursday, where he said “poor children” have no work habits unless it’s “illegal.”

Latino children have one of the highest poverty rates in the country, according to statistics from the National Poverty Center. Thirty-five percent of Latino children live in poverty, compared to the 38 percent of African-American children and 12 percent of white children.

Gingrich has argued that children in poor neighborhoods should be employed as janitors in schools and he compounded on that idea Thursday, saying: “Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works, so they literally have no habit of showing up on Monday. They have no habit of staying all day. They have no habit of ‘I do this and you give me cash’ unless it’s illegal.”

The former speaker has risen in the polls in the race for the GOP presidential nomination but has a history of making controversial statements.

Longoria also tweeted a link to an op-ed in Friday’s New York Times, where Charles Blow wrote about those comments: “Newt Gingrich has reached a new low, and that is hard for him to do.”

The “Desperate Housewives” star called the piece a “must read.”

Longoria is one of the most prominent Hispanic actresses in Hollywood and a major supporter of President Obama’s reelection bid. She hosted a fundraiser for Obama in Los Angeles in October that was billed as the campaign’s first Hispanic fundraiser.

She has donated $17,900 to the Obama Victory Fund; $17,900 to the Democratic National Committee; and $5,000 to Obama, according to Federal Election Commission records.