Trump praised his East Wing ballroom project to a Hispanic Heritage Month crowd, and then said ‘only a Hispanic could survive’ a fall from it

A White House event held for Hispanic Heritage Month turned into a long talk about the East Wing ballroom, reports on the gathering said. President Donald Trump told the audience they would be walking into a space no other group had entered. He framed the unfinished project as something they alone would see first.

“Don’t fall over the edge because it’s a long way down. And only a Hispanic could survive that fall. So I’m not too worried,” Trump said in a bizarre warning, according to Mediaite. He had just told them, “You literally will be the first group ever to enter.” His comments sparked laughter in the crowd. 

Hundreds of Latino business and community leaders were in the room on Wednesday. He noted that Hispanic Heritage Month runs from the middle of September to the middle of October. Before the jokes, Trump said he had nothing but “love” for Hispanics.

Coverage of the speech also recorded jokes about energy, a Duffy aside, and comments on Maduro

The generalization came next, in Trump’s own words. “You’re not supposed to generalize, but I do,” he said. “You’re hardworking people, you’re smart as hell, you’re energetic – sometimes too energetic, I might add.” Mediaite described a large laugh after that. The ballroom project itself has drawn legal scrutiny, as a federal appeals court ruled Trump needs Congress’s approval for it, a ruling his team disputes.

Trump then turned the line toward Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was in the room. “Sean knows that,” he said. “A little bit too energetic.” Duffy is married to Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, and the remarks appear to refer to that marriage.

James also recorded Trump anticipating how the press would describe the opening of the speech. Trump said reporters would likely say he “rambled for 20 minutes about unrelated topics to Hispanic subjects.” His answer was, “It’s actually very related, because it’s good for our country.”

In the same stretch, Trump praised “countless Hispanic patriots” who he said have helped make America great.

He spoke of a mutual bond with what he called the 62 million Hispanics in America. Trump said most Hispanic and Latino Americans back his crackdown on illegal immigration, including a wall on the southern border, and he pointed to a 2024 Hispanic vote share he described as a record for a Republican president.

The president also appeared to praise the ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “If I ran Venezuela, if I ran any country, I would do exactly the same thing that Maduro did,” Trump said. “They emptied their prisons. They emptied their mental institutions. And they just sent them into our country. It was crazy,” he added. 

On the immigration crackdown itself, Trump said, “Frankly, it’s the hardest job I’ve had.” He added, “They’ll say you’re too tough or you’re too soft. Get tougher, get softer. No matter what you do, it’s always tough. But we have, we’ve been very strong.”

Hispanics and Latinos are 20 percent of the country, and nearly four in five adults in the group can vote. They moved heavily toward Trump in 2024. Polling now shows a sharp return toward Democrats, including in Texas and Florida, where contests that were not supposed to be tight have become close.