Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) discussed his vote in favor of the Laken Riley Act heading to President Donald Trump's desk in a recent appearance on Fox and Friends First. He said his vote was the result of listening to voters on the campaign trail and adding, "I know where the base of the Democratic Party is."
Sen. Gallego began by emphasizing, "When I say that I heard from the campaign trail, this is not going to the white suburbs of Arizona. This is from talking to working-class Latinos who were concerned about criminal illegal aliens that were causing some of these crimes."
Host Brian Kilmeade commented on an op-ed from the Arizona Republic that said the Arizona Senator was "saving the Democratic Party from itself" by connecting with working-class voters, accusing the Democrats of becoming the party of wealthier Americans.
As a result, Kilmeade continued, Gallego received "blowback" from the broader Democratic Party by voting for the Laken Riley Act, which Gallego confirmed as coming from the "grass tops," the very same wealthier, high-profile Americans the Republic said Democrats were catering to at the expense of working-class voters.
"I live in a working-class neighborhood in Phoenix; my family is largely a working-class Latino family. I know where the base of the Democratic Party is, and so I feel comfortable representing them; so I do not really have to worry about what is being said to me at the top, provided the people that I know every day that I'm working for really still believe in me, and they believe that I am representing their views," Gallego continued.
He explained that those views were "bringing the cost of food, eggs, and housing down in Arizona" and addressing "people that are worried about border security but also want some sane pathway to immigration reform."
"That is who I represent. I really represent the middle view of Arizona, which is largely working-class and Latino," Gallego concluded.
