Modesto Maidique a “Trump whisperer”

Modesto “Mitch” Maidique wants us to get to know the Donald Trump he knows.

Maidique, after whom MMC is named, has never been afraid of wading into political waters. In 2000, he openly endorsed George W. Bush, and was even appointed to Bush’s Education Advisory Committee. This isn’t an unethical or illegal action — it’s simply unheard of.

In July, Maidique openly backed Trump, saying that he’s simply “misunderstood.” The fourth president of FIU said that he is “almost at the point of making a Trump dictionary,” so that the Republican nominee for president can be better understood, according to Miami New Times. Maidique has additionally begun raising funds for the Republican nominee’s campaign.

But there is no misunderstanding — Trump is an outright bigot.

From suggesting that Ghazala Khan, a Muslim mother who had lost her son in the U.S. military was forbidden from speaking, to stating that Gonzalo Curiel, an Indiana-born federal judge presiding over action taken against Trump University, could not do his job because of his Mexican heritage, Trump seems pretty straightforward.

We wonder what translation of Maidique’s proposed “Trump-dictionary” would explain the racist remarks that tumble out of Trump’s mouth.

For a man like Maidique who sat at the head of our University for 23 years ― a university which prides itself in its large minority enrollment and community ― there seems to be a disconnect from the young faces who fit the profiles of the minorities Trump has unfailingly berated. Many of these young faces belong to students attending FIU.

It is a great shame for the FIU community to have a former president, especially one whose name is so deeply affiliated with the University, support Trump.

As someone who once headed an educational establishment and graduated from Harvard, Maidique’s support of the founder of a for-profit university scheme is ironic.

Trump University ran from 2005 to 2010, pushing its students looking to earn the promised techniques in real estate to enroll in expensive seminars and mentoring programs. Lawsuits accusing Trump University of racketeering have rendered the company defunct.

The Miami New Times reports that Modesto Maidique “admits he can see why Trump is “accused of many things” but says what the presidential candidate is quoted as saying — and how it’s interpreted — is not necessarily what he really thinks.”

Regardless of whether Trump lacks the ability to communicate clearly or not, the editorial board at FIU Student Media cannot take the excuse Maidique has provided as a means to overlook the reckless racism and sexism Trump has directed towards his fellow Americans.

Image by Matt Johnson, retrieved from Flickr: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cornstalker/24057990895/in/photolist-CDVuwt-CBBALm-2fJPbL-e2ZSd7-6Pxa8W-6nK1R9-56toze-nJm9Zs-9dnu6X-9wibdH-jj7qp-6UC3BR-jj7ow-jj7tv-4K7hBj-6urpoT-jj7rB-6qANwX-q6oBg3-anfnqP-iPtjYn-DArDY-8sCfMT-BGpAmd-CBBxn7-9JRdq9-9rTKRf-CwCjmv-BGpJm1-BGpGEq-Cuniqq-CunnCo-9oAUqq-2aDbau-CDVvCg-CwCaGM-BGx7Ca-FBtMxx-FzbUCw-EsxmH-bVyENc-6LxZ5k-7GxFMG-JPrvgT-Gdp1Uj-9oxQZV-nwVj-c1mWkL-63jb3b-nA1rVe