It’s not easy doing a spit take as a bird. The beak just doesn’t allow the proper puckering technique it takes to send a geyser of coffee spewing across your computer screen. You end up just opening your beak and choking on whatever liquid doesn’t dribble down your front.
That’s exactly what I did when I found out that none other than Abel Maldonado met with—brace yourself—President-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 28, 2016. Apparently, Maldonado—former Santa Maria mayor, California state senator, short time lieutenant governor, and co-owner of Agro-Jal Farming Enterprises—flew out to Palm Beach, Fla., to talk with Trump about possibly heading the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
I know, right? Kind of a big deal for Santa Marians right now, to have a former City Council member, mayor, and local businessman being considered for a new president’s cabinet position.
But the fact that it’s Donald Trump who Maldonado is scrambling to meet with casts the honor in a complicated, convoluted light.
Trump infamously opened his campaign with a statement about undocumented immigrants from Mexico, saying, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
For those not in the know, Maldonado is the son of Mexican immigrants. I wonder if his parents would go in Trump’s “good people,” category. If selected for the position, Maldonado would be the first (and most likely only) Latino American in Trump’s cabinet, a move that reeks of damage control after such a divisive election.
The awkward situation is further compounded by the fact that Maldonado criticized Trump during the primary for those very comments! That’s right, Trump’s incendiary statement was the impetus for an open letter penned by Hispanic Republicans in July of last year, which included Maldonado as one of the signers. If there’s anything Trump hates more than questions about his hair, it’s anyone who criticizes him.
But what about Maldonado? After signing a letter that stated, “We will never support you, your candidacy, or your enterprises,” he’s really going to jump in on the Trump bandwagon, and as his token Hispanic cabinet member? What happened to standing on principle? What happened to standing up for Ronald Regan’s party of “optimism and opportunity?”
A possible seat at Trump’s table is what happened.
I wonder if Maldonado had to apologize for the letter, or do some strategic backpedaling when staring into that orange face. Did Abel grovel sufficiently enough to The Donald, like a contestant on The Apprentice, to get the position? Mitt Romney apparently couldn’t, so we will see.
And I doubt this makes Maldonado any more favorable among blue-collar Hispanics in Santa Maria, but maybe he wasn’t so popular to begin with. Maldonado’s company, Agro-Jal Farming Enterprises, is currently in litigation over a class-action lawsuit, which alleges that the company violated labor laws, specifically in regards to wages and working conditions.
But who knows? Maybe owning a company in litigation over wage disputes might endear Maldonado to the president-elect.
The Canary wonders if Maldonado will hear the words, “You’re hired,” from Trump. Tell her your dream cabinet at canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 5-12, 2017.
