By Carmen Sesin – NBCNews
Donald Trump’s campaign has changed the name in its efforts to attract the Hispanic vote, and the former president is set to launch “Latinos Americans for Trump” at an event in Las Vegas on Sunday.
The change from “Latinos for Trump” to “Latino Americans for Trump” was made to emphasize that Latinos are Americansaccording to Jaime Florez, director of Hispanic communications for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign.
“It is very important that we all understand that no matter where we come from, we are already Americans,” Florez declared to explain the name change. “Whether you are African-American, Latino-American, Asian-American, European-American, wherever you come from, we are all Americans.”
The term “Latino” is widely used to refer to people of Latin American descent living in the United States.
Explaining the change, Florez indicated that the new campaign name was a collective idea that emerged through meetings and conference calls.
“We, as Latinos, want to be treated like what we are. We are already Americans. “This is our country,” said Florez. “We came here to stay, we came here to pursue our American dream, we have our families here, and we have our future in America. […] “Trump gave us a chance to feel more united through the idea of working together to make America great again.”
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Florez reported that the campaign plans to hold rallies and launch digital, television and radio ads in both English and Spanish. But he declined to share more details, including who will lead the effort or how much money he will spend on outreach, saying some details will be released at Sunday’s event.
A late start
Trump’s official campaign to reach Latinos is starting late, less than five months before Election Day. The Republican Party has also closed some of its contact offices with Latinos and minorities.
Since last year, the Biden campaign has promoted its activities to attract Latino voters. In March, they launched their official “Latinos with Biden” campaign, in which they invested in operations in key states of the race, and held campaign events with the president, Joe Biden, and the vice president, Kamala Harris, in addition to placing ads in English, Spanish and Spanglish.
[Reportan que Trump lamenta que no inmigren a EE.UU. personas de “países agradables”]
When asked why the Trump campaign’s efforts to reach out to Latinos were starting now, Florez said: Trump’s trial had complicated their plans and put them on hold.
Last week, Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election. He will be sentenced on July 11. .
Trump still faces criminal charges in Georgia, Florida and Washington DC, but trials have been delayed and are unlikely to take place until after the Nov. 5 election.
As for the Republican community center closures, Florez claimed they occurred because leases had ended and the Republican National Committee chair cannot sign contracts beyond his term limit (Ronna McDaniel resigned as RNC chair in February, after Trump hand-picked a new leader). When asked if outreach centers would reopen, Florez He said he didn’t know yet.since they are still working out many details of the campaign.
Biden obtained 63% of the Latino vote in 2020. Trump, however, made gains with Latino voters compared to 2016, especially in Texas and Florida. According to an April NBC News poll, Latinos favor Biden over Trump, 49% to 39%.
The April poll also found low approval ratings for Biden among Latinos (40%), although that number is up from 35% in January.
Trump has gained ground among Latino voters and other nationalities in recent polls.
The economy has been a top concern for Latinos, and two-thirds of Hispanics surveyed in the April NBC News poll thought the economy had not improved under Biden.
Trump held an event last week in the Bronx, New York, with the aim of reaching out to Hispanic and black voters.
Florez assured that under Trump, Latinos “had our great time, our income was better.”
Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden’s campaign manager, said in a statement that Biden has achieved “real results” for Latinos, citing lower health care costs, job creation that has led to record low unemployment numbers, unemployment among Latinos, and “historic investments leading to Latino small business openings at the fastest pace in a decade.”
Florez added that part of the appeal for Hispanics who support Trump is his unscripted style.
“It says the things we want to hear.”declared Florez. “He doesn’t speak our language, but he says what he thinks.”
Florez referred to Trump’s speaking style using the expression “al pan pan y al vino vino,” which means calling things by their name.
Trump’s critics, including the Biden campaign, have lambasted some of the former president’s recent comments, including leave floating the possibility of imprisoning his political opponents.
“The American people and the Latino community deserve a president who focuses on providing solutions for them and their families.” Instead of a wannabe dictator who focuses on himself and in ending our basic freedoms,” said Chavez Rodriguez.
