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9 months ago
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Retired UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz came out swinging Wednesday on "Jesse Watters Primetime," challenging President Biden’s push to rally over Latino voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
"Pandering at its worst. It's pretty embarrassing what they're trying to do," Ortiz, who is former mayor pro tempore of Huntington Beach, Calif., told Watters. "I've watched this over the last three-and-a-half years, and it's just, how much more can our country take before people stand up?"
"All the Latino friends that I have, everybody that's been waiting in line to get across the border — it's no longer Mexicans that are trying to get across the border. It's everybody from every other country."
Ortiz expressed concern for the country's current situation and cautioned that if individuals don't "stand up and make their votes be heard," he's unsure what will happen to America.
HISPANIC VOTERS DELIVER BLOW TO ‘LATINOS CON BIDEN-HARRIS’ CAMPAIGN: ‘THEY’RE PANDERING TO US'
"It's really hard for me because being a blue-collar man with three boys and the future of them, I got to make sure that I stand up and let my voice be heard," Ortiz said.
Ortiz is a former California business owner who once managed five establishments and "lost everything" in 2020. Following this setback, the former UFC fighter relocated to Florida, where he opened Tito's Cantina Tequila Bar & Grille in Cape Coral to "redo the American Dream."
The retired UFC star shared his view of Donald Trump's 2024 presidential bid and expressed why he’s proud to have the former president in his corner.
"You've got to understand, I've known Donald Trump since 2000. I fought at his casino at the Trump Taj Mahal. I worked on the ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ with him, and to see what type of businessman he was, what type of father he was, what type of patriot he is for this country — for a billionaire to step up for this country, willing to risk everything to protect this country, my hat's off to him, and I will support him until he's no longer around."
He continued: "And that’s the way I feel, but I think there's a lot of Latinos that feel the same way because they come to this country to make sure we have our faith, we have our family and we have our freedoms."
Ortiz acknowledged that the U.S. southern border is in "shambles" and blames Biden's policies and legislation.
"You can see all across the border, in Texas, Arizona, California. It's just shambles of what the Border Patrol can't take care of, and it's because of the legislation and the policies that the Biden regime is doing right now."
"These are the things that this country cannot lose. If we lose that, there's no turning back, and people need to understand that now, this is our time to take back America, because we cannot lose it," Ortiz said.
"For the future of our children, for all the futures of everybody who does want to come across the border legally. Because, once again, it's not just Mexicans that are coming across the border, people need to understand that. There's child-trafficking, there's drugs that are coming across. All the cartels are doing the things that American people don't like."
"We need to come together," Ortiz said. "We need to make sure that we make America great again because it's very, very important."
The Hispanic voter base is considered one of the most valuable demographics for candidates in the 2024 presidential election – the Latino population continues to rise while its historic affiliation with the Democrats has wavered.
President Biden campaigned in Nevada, Arizona and Texas this week in an attempt to mobilize Latino voters.
Biden won 59% of the Hispanic vote to Trump's 38% in 2020, according to Pew Research.
A New York Times/Siena College poll from earlier this month found former President Trump holds a six-point lead over Biden among Hispanic voters.
Fox News' Mija Maslar, Timothy Nerozzi and Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
