President Joe Biden launched his “Latinos con Biden-Harris” initiative at a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix, promising he’s the best candidate for the Hispanic community.
“Latinos proved in 2020 what we are capable of in Arizona and in so many critical states throughout this country,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said as she introduced the president. “We sent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House the first time, and we’re gonna do it again in 2024.”
The Latino initiative was announced Tuesday morning as a “program to engage and mobilize Latino voters, communities, and leaders across the country.”
The Biden campaign says Latinos con Biden-Harris will include a series of events to reach Latino supporters about the president and “the choice Latinos will face in this election.” Events this week will be held in Nevada, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, in addition to Arizona.
“You’re the reason why in large part I beat Donald Trump,” Biden said when it was his turn to speak. “I need you badly.”
The crowd cheered “Viva Biden” while surrounded by Latinos con Biden-Harris posters.
But the push comes as polling indicates the president is slipping with nonwhite voters, Hispanics included. A recent New York Times poll found former President Donald Trump has a 6-point lead among Hispanic voters, a group Biden won by 24 points four years ago.
Biden’s outreach to Hispanic voters has been ongoing since his 2020 campaign but has not always been received well.
First lady Jill Biden caused an uproar in 2022 when she said Hispanics were as “unique” as “breakfast tacos” and mispronounced the word “bodega” at an event called the LatinX IncluXion luncheon.
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists released a statement afterward saying, “We are not tacos,” and the term Latinx was absent from the Latinos con Biden-Harris launch. Jill Biden was not in attendance at the Phoenix event, which was held at the El Portal restaurant.
Trump also drew controversy in 2016 by photographing himself in front of a taco bowl on Cinco de Mayo with the caption, “I love Hispanics!”
Arizona Democratic Party Chairwoman Yolanda Bejarano spoke to reporters at the event and was asked why Latinos are drawn to Trump.
“People like to be entertained. And sometimes Donald Trump, what he does is it provides that entertainment,” she said. “People laugh at his rallies, you know, it’s like they’re going to a circus. They’re listening to him just joke about things — very, very serious things … We just need to be very, very focused and make sure that Latinos understand exactly who Donald Trump is and what a danger he presents to us.”
Biden also brought up Trump during the rally, pointing to his comments about immigrants and saying, “He only cares about the wealthy.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The president also included a standard part of his campaign speeches, saying, “Nothing ever trickled down to my dad’s kitchen table,” and calling to raise the tax rate for billionaires to 25%.
“I’m optimistic,” Biden concluded. “There’s nothing beyond our capacity.”
