Donald Trump was asked on CNN why he hired foreign workers on temporary visas to work at his resort in Florida instead of the Americans who applied for the job.
Trump pointed out that the work is seasonal, and harder to find workers who were willing to work temporarily in Palm Beach.
“It’s almost impossible to get help. And part of the reason that you can’t get American people—you know, they want full-time jobs,” he said. “This is a 4-month, 5-month job.”
Trump insisted that bringing in workers on visas was done “legally” — “We have no choice,” he added.
The Rubio campaign seized Trump’s remarks as proof that he wasn’t committed to hiring American workers — quickly sending out the clip to reporters.
The New York Times reported that since 2010 only 17 Americans were hired at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida even though nearly 300 American workers applied for the jobs.
Rubio picked up the attacks again this morning, arguing that the billionaire candidate had a record of hurting workers for his own financial gain.
“We cannot turn over the Reagan revolution to someone who has spent a career sticking it to working people and now claims to be their champion,” Rubio said on the Today Show this morning.
Rubio, however, has supported legislation in Congress to expand the use of temporary visas for foreign workers making it easier to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor.