Donald Trump is trying something different when it comes to Gov. Susana Martinez.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee called into the Santa Fe New Mexican newsroom Thursday in an apparent attempt to woo Martinez to his side.
From the paper:
“I’d like to have it,” Trump said in a phone interview when asked if wanted Martinez’s support. “I respect her. I have always liked her.”
That’s different from what he said in front of thousands of New Mexicans last week. There, Trump slammed Martinez.
“We have to get your governor going,” Trump said to cheers in the crowd. “She’s got to do a better job, OK? Your governor has to do a better job. She’s not doing the job!”
Then, he said that maybe he would run for governor.
“I’ll get this place going,” he said. “She’s not doing the job. We’ve got to get her moving. Come on, let’s go governor!”
Earlier in the day, Martinez still said she would not endorse Trump, but opened a door for how she could come to support him.
“I am where I have always been,” Martinez said in a video posted by the New Mexican. “It’s very important that he address what is needed in New Mexico in reference to our labs and our military bases.
“We are affected more than any other state because of the four military labs and our four… military bases. He needs to address his plans for us. And New Mexico people deserve to get that answer. He has not addressed it yet. I will tell you, I’m not going to be voting for Hillary Clinton.”
The New Mexican asked if she might not endorse Trump.
“I’m waiting to hear from him as to addressing the issues facing New Mexico,” Martinez said. “After I hear that, we’ll see what happens.”
Trump addressed this in his Trumpian way.
“New Mexico is a very powerful component of that. I will be adding to New Mexico greatly, building up our military capability in New Mexico … so New Mexico is totally protected.”
At a press conference last week, Trump said that he expected Martinez would ‘come over’ and support him.
NM Political Report reached out to the two members of Martinez’s press team Thursday night. Any response by Chris Sanchez or Michael Lonergan will be added to this post, if the two public information officers choose to respond.
It’s other comments by Trump about another Hispanic that drew national headlines, however.
When speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Trump said that the judge hearing a case against Trump University should be disqualified because of his ethnicity.
In an interview, Mr. Trump said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel had “an absolute conflict” in presiding over the litigation given that he was “of Mexican heritage” and a member of a Latino lawyers’ association. Mr. Trump said the background of the judge, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrants, was relevant because of his campaign stance against illegal immigration and his pledge to seal the southern U.S. border. “I’m building a wall. It’s an inherent conflict of interest,” Mr. Trump said.
Martinez, the governor he is trying to woo, is of Mexican ancestry.
