Mayra Flores: Tacos and music won't win votes of Latinos
Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, on why the economy and border crisis are responsible for Democrats losing Latino voters
Texas Republican congresswoman Mayra Flores torched Democrats for taking Hispanic voters "for granted" Wednesday and predicted the November midterm elections will show that the left does not "own" their votes.
Flores, who flipped a House seat in a special election last month, joined "America's Newsroom" to discuss how the economy and border crisis are responsible for the Democratic Party losing Hispanic voters.
"We're going to teach them a strong lesson in November that they do not own our votes and that they need to bring back the good economy that we had prior to the Biden administration," she told Sandra Smith and Bill Hemmer.
Flores mocked a CNN column suggesting she was an inauthentic Latina on Tuesday by referencing first lady Jill Biden’s "breakfast tacos" gaffe.
Columnist Raul Reyes, who regularly writes for the outlet, had criticized Flores and other Republican Latinas from South Texas, Monica De La Cruz and Cassy Garcia, in a piece headlined, "These GOP Latina candidates are not the ‘real deal.’"
"I am proud of my culture and my beautiful family," Flores told Fox News Digital in a text. "I was born in Burgos, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and raised with strong Conservative values to always put God and Family first. I have received only hate from the liberal media and constantly [been] told by the left to go back to Mexico. They don't support us immigrants, they only use us for political power and don't care about our well-being. I am here now, and I won't allow them to continue taking advantage of my people."
President Joe Biden speaks as he meets with Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, July 12, 2022. ((AP Photo/Susan Walsh))
Flores applauded Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for coming to meet with President Joe Biden amid the growing border crisis along the southern border. Flores slammed Biden for not taking the meeting seriously and said "when the president of Mexico was talking to him, he wasn't really paying attention to what he had to say."
Flores implied Biden was "half-asleep" as the border crisis continues to endanger lives.
"People are going through a dangerous journey, increasing child sex trafficking, alarming rates. This is something that we should all come together and work for, the safety of immigrants and, of course, innocent children that are being dragged into child sex trafficking. That's a reality. And I think that conversation wasn't had"
After the first lady said that Latino voters are "as diverse as the breakfast tacos in San Antonio," Flores said it shows Democrats believe things like tacos and "playing Latin music" is all it takes to win voters.
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Flores doubted the sincerity of Biden's apology, saying it only came after the White House saw the backlash from the Hispanic community.
"It's going to take a lot more than that. We want gas, rent and groceries to come down. We want more money in our pockets, and they're only making our lives more miserable."
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report