Oscar-nominated Mexican actor Demián Bichir, who played an illegal immigrant in 2011’s A Better Life, says Donald Trump is but a small enemy of illegal immigration, and is unelectable.
Bichir is big in Mexico, but is known in the U.S. for his roles in The Heat, Machete Kills, and the Showtime series Weeds. He will co-star in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western The Hateful Eight.
During a red carpet conversation with E! News this week, the 51-year-old was asked about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s comments on illegal immigration, and said the business magnate has no shot at winning an election.
“I wouldn’t really waste so much energy on small enemies. This guy will come in and out in two seconds,” the actor told E!’s Marc Malkin.
“I don’t think he’s bad intentioned. It’s a matter of ignorance, and he really does not know much about our culture and what Mexicans have done for this country and that we continue to do that,” Bichir added of Trump. “Just the fact that he made those remarks proves again, you cannot buy cleverness at the store.”
During his June 16 presidential announcement, Donald Trump expressed concern over rapes and other crimes being committed by illegal immigrants, and despite becoming a media bull’s-eye for the politically incorrect nature of the comments, has stood behind them.
With 15 GOP candidates officially declared, Trump is now sharing frontrunner status with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Malkin described the Trump backlash as “amazing,” to which Bichir responded, “He shot himself in the foot and he’s paying for it.”
The actor then urged people to focus on immigration reform, and said Mexican immigrants contribute positively to American life.
“Not only those 13 million undocumented workers, but everyone else,” he said. “We all live in this country and there isn’t a single day that an immigrant is not involved in our daily lives. They make it better and happier and easier, and it’s just absurd to ignore that. Not anymore.
Bichir concluded: “We’re pushing really, really hard for that immigration reform and whoever brings that to the table, that’s where the voters will go.”
Watch the interview above.