Trump in 2012: Immigration ‘a top priority’

Donald Trump told Fox News in December 2012 that Republicans had to “take the lead” on immigration reform, “otherwise they’re never going to win another election.”

{mosads}Speaking to “Fox and Friends” in the aftermath of President Obama’s reelection, Trump said immigration should be a “top priority” for Obama, along with jobs.

“It is a top priority, and the Republicans ought to take the lead. I mean they have to get smart. They cannot have what happened to them with immigration and other issues sabotage their elections,” Trump said at the time.

CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski posted the video on Twitter Monday.

“They’re never gonna win another election.”https://t.co/GJ8PJW4tQC

— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) November 7, 2016

The Republican National Committee put out a document after the 2012 election known as an autopsy of the campaign, in which GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s position on immigration was singled out as a leading cause of his defeat.

Romney got 27 percent of the Latino vote in 2012; Trump is expected to get less than 20 percent when votes are tallied on Tuesday.

Trump has centered his 2016 campaign on immigration, promising to build a wall on the border with Mexico and to aggressively enforce immigration laws. Early in his campaign, Trump promised a deportation force to go after 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Trump’s proposals have helped drive Hispanic voter participation, which in past elections has been lower than other demographic groups. 

Latino early voting numbers so far show record levels of participation, reported CNN Monday.