UPDATED: Chief spokesman for the Republican Party of Florida Wadi Gaitan will work his last day for the RPOF Tuesday, unable to go any further supporting Donald Trump as the GOP's presidential nominee.
Several news sources reported Monday it was Gaitan's disenchantment over Trump's stated anti-Hispanic policies and broadsides against immigrants, minorities and women that drove him out.
In fact, one of Gaitan's Republican operative friends told BuzzFeed's Adrian Carrasquillo, “'We should be a big tent and inclusive party and whenever people are exiting the tent, we should worry. When folks find it tough to support the nominee -- Ronald Reagan said come one, come all, not get them out of here.'”
Gaitan has been a popular figure among party leaders. In fact, RPOF Chairman Blaise Ingoglia credited him with taking the lead on organizing the bilingual presentation of RPOF's highly successful Florida Sunshine Summit -- an event in which 14 presidential candidates took the stage in Orlando. The summit, staged in partnership with Telemundo and covered by Univision, was billed as Florida’s biggest political event of 2015.
Gaitan, son of Honduran immigrants and a former senior House Republican aide who focused on Hispanic affairs, sent an email to his media contacts Monday, saying he has taken a job with the LIBRE Initiative in Washington, D.C.
The LIBRE Initiative gets much of its support from the Koch Brothers. Despite Trump, LIBRE and its executive director, Daniel Garza, remain active in Hispanic/Latino communities nationwide, spending millions of dollars in the past year trying to draw voters to support conservative or libertarian policies. LIBRE claims it doesn't advocate for political candidates. Garza told The Washington Post Trump's "combative anti-immigrant rhetoric has made his organization's outreach more difficult."
Gaitan's email said simply, "It has been an exciting two years and I am grateful for the opportunity (RPOF) Chairman Blaise Ingoglia and the Florida GOP team afforded me. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you at the Florida press corps. ..."
Gaitan did not return Sunshine State News' phone call Monday afternoon.
Ingoglia, who was the first RPOF chairman to bring a bilingual emphasis to the party's strategy, said, "I'm sorry to lose Wadi. But I want everybody to know our commitment to the Hispanic community will continue, that's why we've added Yohana De La Torre from Upper Hand Strategies."
Veteran political strategist and pundit Roger Stone, longtime Donald Trump friend, was clearly displeased after Gaitan's announcement. He tweeted, "Judas! RPOF mouthpiece Gaitan takes 30pieces of Silver from Kochs to knife @realDonaldTrump washingtonpost.com/news/post-poli… @adamsmithtimes"
This won't be the first time Gaitan worked in Washington, D.C. He served a critical role for the GOP on Capitol Hill. He served as the lead Spanish-speaking spokesman for House Republicans and maintained close relationships with Spanish-language media outlets, including Univision, Telemundo and CNN en Español. The Washington Post reports Gaitan met regularly with lawmakers who were willing to speak out in Spanish, including Reps. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., Jeff Denham, R-Calif., and former congressman Trey Radel, R-Fla., "to tutor them on political lingo and prepare them for interviews. The outreach earned plaudits from the Spanish-speaking political press corps."
Gaitan is far from the only Hispanic Republican struggling with a way to continue in party politics outside the GOP's official infrastructure to avoid questions about Trump.
According to the Post, Ruth Guerra, the Republican National Committee's Hispanic communications director, stepped down in June ahead of the party's convention, to join the American Action Network. She told friends and associates she could no longer defend a candidate who attacks Hispanics on a near-daily basis.
Guerra's successor, Helen Aguirre Ferre, a former Bush supporter and familiar figure particularly in South Florida, has faced intense public pressure since taking the job.
Ferre stepped down last month as chairwoman of the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees, citing her increased workload and travel schedule. She held the pro-bono chairman's job for 12 years and remains a board member of the college. But for how long is unsure. Her job with the Republican National Committee is getting in the way. Immigration reform activists have called for Ferre's removal, believing a de facto Trump surrogate should not play an active role at a college with a large immigrant student population.
(This story was updated at 9:15 p.m. to include a comment from Party Chair Blaise Ingoglia.)
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
