The Republican presidential candidates who have gotten sucked into Donald Trump’s toxic orbit on immigration are slowly starting to claw their way out, gathering faith that the billionaire’s divisive remarks won’t be enough to bring down the entire GOP.
In the meantime, however, the party appears to be orchestrating some damage control. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus spent an hour on the phone with Trump on Thursday, urging him to moderate his inflammatory remarks on immigration, the RNC confirmed to NBC News. The call is seen as a sign that the GOP is becoming seriously alarmed that the real estate mogul has alienated Latinos, a group considered key to the party’s success in 2016.
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Trump has also recently not spared his fellow Republican candidates from his signature bluster. He personally tailored attacks against his critics — saying former Texas Gov. Rick Perry “failed” at the border and calling Florida Sen. Marco Rubio “very weak” on immigration.
Now his opponents are hitting back.
Perry posted a three-minute video online Wednesday dedicated entirely to addressing Trump’s attacks and defending his record of serving 14 years as governor in a state that shares the longest border with Mexico. “Your comments about Mexicans are offensive,” Perry says in the clip. “Your remarks might make for good reality TV, but they are way out of touch with reality.”
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In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Rubio said Trump’s comments distract from the substance of the immigration debate. “I think voters are capable of distinguishing the Republican Party from Donald Trump, and he’ll have to respond for his own comments,” he said. “I obviously strongly disagree with them. They’re inaccurate and they’re offensive and they’re divisive.”
That distinction represents a gamble that more moderate candidates on immigration say the Republican Party cannot afford. Mitt Romney’s share of the Latino vote barely topped 27% in the 2012 presidential election. And for Republican strategists who see making inroads with Latino voters as crucial a 2016 win, Trump calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and drug dealers is about as far away as possible in making that happen.
“My party is in a hole with Hispanics. The first rule of politics when you’re in a hole is to stop digging. Somebody needs to take the shovel out of Donald Trump’s hand,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday.








