Rep. Mayra Flores to C&B: This Country Is Worth Fighting For

BUCK: Very pleased to bring — for the first time on the show to all of you — Republican Congresswoman Mayra Flores of Texas’ 34th. She’s with us now. She was the first Mexican-born female U.S. congresswoman, and she flipped that historically very blue seat down near the U.S.-Mexico border, and we’re very pleased that she joins us now. Congresswoman, thanks so much.

REP. FLORES: Oh, thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

BUCK: So, there was a lot of attention earlier this week at the “Latinx Incluxion” conference where the first lady was speaking. First of all, Clay and I are fascinated by this. We see in all the polls that the Hispanic community, the Latino community nationwide overwhelmingly rejects the use of this term Latinx. So what’s with the use of Latinx at this conference and on CNN, et cetera?

REP. FLORES: You’re right. We’re Latinos, and Joe Biden and the liberal left are completely (chuckles) out of touch with our community. They don’t see us as Americans. They’re only out and about in our communities come election time. They just don’t see us as Americans. They see us as tacos! (laughing). And they think that by giving us tacos and playing Latin music, that’s all I tell you, gonna take to obtain our vote, and that’s completely false. What’s it’s gonna take for you to get to work? That’s what it’s gonna take for us to ever vote for, you know, any Democrat. But that’s not gonna happen this coming November where we’ve had enough.

CLAY: I’m curious what you get as responses when you trot out some of these Democrat ideas. Latinx. Also, we’ve been talking today on the show having fun with the idea — and I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of these viral clips, Mayra, about the idea — that men can get pregnant.

REP. FLORES: (laughing)

CLAY: When you’re going around in your district, Texas 34 down near the border and you walk into places, what is the response in your district when you say, “Hey, you know, Democrats, they think that men can get pregnant?” How are people there responding to ideas like these?

REP. FLORES: They look at you crazy. (laughing) That’s not who we are here in South Texas in the Hispanic community. We’re about God, family, country, and hard work. We do not stand for those crazy nonsense ideals, and honestly, no one it talking about those things in my district. No one cares about Latinx in South Texas. All we want is opportunities. We want gas and groceries and the rent to go down. That’s what we’re focused on, and I think that’s why I was successful, because I focused on the issues that really mattered to my district, and Washington thinks that the United States revolves around them, but we’re not Washington.

BUCK: Congresswoman Mayra Flores with us now. She is representing Texas’ 34th Congressional District, had a huge win recent flipping that congressional district — and congratulations to you. We meant to say that before, congresswoman.

REP. FLORES: Thank you.

BUCK: But you’ve got obviously some big tasks ahead in trying to do the best you can for your district given its location along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was just reported that the largest ever seizure of fentanyl pills occurred in the last 24 hours. A million pills of fentanyl coming over and they believe from the Sinaloa cartel, trafficking them into the United States. What has Biden’s de facto open border meant in your community, and what do you want to do about it?

REP. FLORES: Border security saves lives and it protects innocent children, and the Biden administration continues to encourage people to come here illegally, knowing the dangers, knowing that the criminal organizations have taken over Tamaulipas. I have family in Tamaulipas. My grandparents are there. I have aunts and uncles and cousins that I can’t visit because I’m afraid, and people in South Texas also have families in Tamaulipas.

We understand what’s happening in the border, and the Biden administration continues to encourage illegal immigration knowing that these people are going to pay thousands of dollars to these criminal organizations that have the Mexican people terrorized and they’re also hurting the American people. If we care about immigrants, if we care about the American people, we will focus on legal immigration.

How can we help the good people who want to come here to the American dream and to work hard and do it legally, improving the legal process? But the Democrat Party continues to focus on illegal immigration, knowing the dangers and knowing that our border patrol agents don’t have the resources, don’t have the manpower. And because of it, because they’re focused on the humanitarian crisis, all of these drugs and fentanyl are coming through, hurting the American people, killing our children.

CLAY: Congresswoman, you’re hinting at it here in a big way. I saw a stat from a recent poll: 70% of Hispanic voters believe that America is the best country in the world.

REP. FLORES: Amen.

CLAY: That’s why so many people live here, want to be here. Only 28% of white, woke, progressive voters in the Democrat Party believe that America is the best country in the world. What do Hispanic voters, as you see them in your district and around the country, think about Democrats attacking this country and everything that it stands for when so many Hispanic people are willing to risk their lives to get here? What do you hear from people about America and its importance to them?

REP. FLORES: We wish we could send them to Mexico or to Venezuela and Cuba and we could bring our families that we have over there that would appreciate this country a lot more than them. Because immigrants like myself, we love this country. We love and appreciate the freedom, the opportunity that this country has given me, given us. That’s why I’m running, because I want to give back to the greatest country in the world.

I want to give back to this amazing country that’s done so much for me, that’s done so much for all of us, and this country is worth fighting for. And it’s funny because now these woke people, they want to send me back to Mexico. I have received so many messages from them, “Go back to Mexico. We don’t want you here.” They don’t want immigrants that are not obedient to them.

They want people to come here and be obedient, to follow their rules and forget about their values. We’re not gonna forget about our values. Our values are so important. We’re not going to put them aside for no political party, and that’s why for me it’s so important for us to continue fighting for our values that our grandparents and parents inherit in us and we want those values to live in our children and for many more generations.

BUCK: Just one more for you, Congresswoman Flores — and we thank you again for your time. The Red Wave that we hope on this show is coming, how confident are you that we’re gonna see large numbers of Hispanic-American, Latino-American voters as part of that wave, perhaps at the crest of the wave?

REP. FLORES: I’m very confident. We are not taking the Hispanic community for granted like the Democrat Party is. They think that no matter what that the Hispanic community is gonna vote for them. But we don’t. We’re gonna knock on doors. We’re gonna make the phone calls. We’re gonna get to work and we’re gonna earn their vote, and that’s why I believe that we’re gonna bin the majority coming this November. And I’m gonna win Texas District 34 not because I’m Republican but because of who I am, because of the work ethic that I have and also our values that align with Texas District 34 and the work that we’re gonna put in. So I’m really confident that we’re gonna do very well in south Texas and throughout the country — and we can’t do it without your support! (laughs)

CLAY: That’s what I was gonna say. If people want to support you and they’re listening to you right now, how can they do that?

REP. FLORES: Please join our team. Please donate to our campaign at MayraFloresForCongress.com.

BUCK: Congresswoman Flores, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

REP. FLORES: Thank you so much. God bless you.