Salma Hayek just proved she is a more polished politician than Donald Trump, needling the GOP nominee for his horrid treatment of women and Latinos in a conference call Monday.
The actress, who has become a surrogate for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, recounted a trip she took in 1998 to visit American troops overseas. As she approached a camp in Kosovo, she was surprised by how many soldiers were of Latin American descent. When she talked with the soldiers, she was struck by their commitment and pride.
"I got to know them a little bit — many, many of them," Hayek said during a call organized by the Clinton campaign. "And some of them said to me they were willing to risk their life for a green card. And that they wanted people to know that they really cared about this country and they wanted to earn the right to be American," she said. "They said they wanted people to know how much they loved this country."
Hayek noted that many of the young soldiers who have died in past wars were Latinos. But today, instead of honoring these sacrifices and contributions, a presidential candidate is call them criminals, Hayek said.
"He calls us criminals, but who is the one who has a criminal lawsuit? He calls us rapists, but who has a lawsuit for raping a young girl?" Hayek asked. "He calls Hillary Clinton, 'crooked Hillary,' but last time I checked he has 3,500 lawsuits."
Hayek waded into the ugly discourse surrounding this election when she gave a radio interview last week in Los Angeles detailing the time she met Trump and his subsequent pursuit of her despite her vocal disinterest. Trump, salty from being turned down, would later plant gossip in the National Enquirer suggesting the real estate mogul did not want to date Hayek because she was not tall enough for him, Hayek has said.
On Monday Hayek indicated that Trump did not necessarily treat her badly in these instances but insisted that these encounters demonstrate his overall selfishness and misogyny. She then asserted that Trump vows to be a politician who will do what he says yet Trump admits he has said certain things but then claims he has never done them and that his comments were just locker-room talk.
"I actually think that 'Make American Great Again' is also nothing but locker-room talk," Hayek said, "because he has never done anything for Americans. His big claim is that he has created jobs for America. He didn't do business to create jobs for America. He did it to make himself rich. That's all he knows how to do," Hayek said.
Hayek had nothing but high praise for Hillary Clinton. "She knows what it takes to make a change. She has been fighting for these changes for 30 years, in health, in education," she said.
Before ending the conference call, Hayek emphasized the importance of this election for Latinos.
"This is a very important time in history, for all of us," she said. "In honor of those [Hispanic] men and women who gave their life for this country and all of their mothers and all of the sacrifices we have made, we have got to vote. We have to say that we have a voice. We care for this place. We care for this land," Hayek said.
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