Yesterday, Donald Trump was supposed to go to Washington DC to answer questions 
before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Instead, he went to Vegas. While that might sound like a punchline, it actually isn’t; he took the time to host a rally at Cirque du Soleil’s Mystère Theatre on the strip. During the speech he gave there, Trump spoke with his usual dose of insults and wisecracks, accentuated by audience participation. In one part of the event, he had supporters call out the names of countries taking advantage of the US, and even invited a woman with a fire-red dye job to stand up so he could say “I wish I had that hair”.
At one point, Trump complained about the appearance of his nose on the cover of a recent issue of People Magazine. In what almost sounds like a setup, a woman seated in the front row waved a copy of the magazine. When Trump pulled her up, the woman, who identified as Hispanic, proclaimed herself a supporter of Trump. While Trump claimed that he had never met the woman before.
Although Trump’s image has thrived on his confrontational nature, he pulled out of the Hispanic Chamber event, which POLITICO reported would be characterized by tough questions, in favor of a Vegas rally. The rally was held at Treasure Island, a hotel and casino owned by Trump’s friend and business partner Phil Ruffin that’s just a stone’s throw from Trump International House and Tower. Ruffin took the stage before the event to plug Trump, emphasizing the fact that Trump employed “hundreds of thousands” of Hispanics, and that “they all loved him”. As usual, Trump spent his time talking about his 2016 rivals, both Republican and Democrat.
The fact that Trump chose not to face tough questions in favor of hosting a rally naturally raises questions. Answering tough questions before the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce could potentially lead to another PR nightmare for trump, and the reward of navigating successfully wouldn’t be too high. Yet holding a rally that addresses various cultural and economic concerns has a much higher reward for Trump, and will most likely not lead to any sort of PR problem. If you’d like to learn more about this, click here!
