U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Javier Palomarez Friday hailed President Donald Trump's decision to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon, saying his organization is happy the president "decided to heed our call to action."
"Bannon has been complicit in the indefensible — lending White House support to neo-Nazis and white supremacy groups," Palomarez said in a statement to Newsmax. "We have pressed the case to administration officials that as long as Bannon's nexis of anti-Semitism and hate was mere steps from the Oval Office, business would take a backseat to bigotry in the Trump White House."
Earlier this week, Palomarez called on Trump to fire Bannon following the racial violence in Charlottesville, and the controversy over Trump's response to the issue, reports The Dallas Morning News.
"Denouncing white supremacy without equivocation and without reservation should have been a no-brainer for President Trump," Palomarez said in his call to fire Bannon. "It seems clear that influential members of his administration were more worried about winning votes through dog whistles and winks and nods to the most evil elements of our society than in maintaining the moral authority of the presidency."
On Friday, after the news broke about Bannon's ouster, Palomarez said that the former Breitbart executive stands against "everything" the Hispanic community stands for, including "free trade, immigration and inclusivity."
He also said the chamber hopes that with Bannon's departure, there will be a "swift end to the shameful and vile rhetoric that has plunged our country into crisis. This is a much needed first step to begin healing the wounds of this past week."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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