Donald Trump’s campaign has rebranded its Latin American outreach, with the former president set to launch “Latino Americans for Trump” at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday.
The switch from “Latinos for Trump” to “Latino Americans for Trump” was made to emphasize that Latinos are American, said Jaime Florez, the Latin American communications director for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign.
“It’s very important that we all understand that no matter where we come from, we are already American,” said Florez, explaining the name change. “Whether you are African American, Latino American, Asian American, European American, wherever you come from, we are all American.”
The term ‘Latino’ is generally considered to refer to people of Latin American descent living in the US
In explaining the rebrand, Florez said the new campaign name was a collective idea that emerged during meetings and conference calls.
“We as Latinos want to be treated as we are. We are already American. This is our country,” Florez said. “We came here to stay, we came here to pursue our American dream, we have our families here and we have our future in the United States. … Trump gave us the opportunity to feel more united with the idea of working together to make America great again.”
Florez said the campaign plans to hold rallies and launch digital, TV and radio ads in both English and Spanish. But he declined to share more details, including who will implement the effort or how much money it will spend on outreach, saying some details will be revealed at Sunday’s meeting.
A late start
Trump’s official Latino outreach campaign got off to a late start, less than five months before Election Day. The Republican Party has also closed some of its Latino and minority organizations.
The Biden campaign has touted its previous outreach among Latino voters since last year. In March, the campaign launched its official “Latinos con Biden,” investing in ground operations in key battleground states, hosting campaign events with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and running ads in English, Spanish and Spanglish.
When asked why the Trump campaign’s Latino outreach is starting now, Florez said the Trump lawsuit had complicated the plans they had and put them on hold.
Last week, Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying corporate records in connection with a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election; his sentencing will be July 11.
Trump still faces criminal charges in Georgia, Florida and Washington DC, but the trials have been postponed and likely won’t take place until after the November 5 election.
Regarding the Republican community center closures, Florez said they occurred because leases had expired and the Republican National Committee chair cannot sign contracts that extend beyond their terms (Ronna McDaniel resigned as RNC chair in February, after Trump himself a new leader). When asked if the outreach centers would reopen, Florez said he didn’t know yet as they were still working out many details of the campaign.
Biden won 63% of the Latino vote in 2020. However, Trump impressed with Latino voters in that race 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 showed that Biden had low approval ratings among Latinos (40%), although that was down from 35% in January.
Trump has made gains among Latino and other voters in recent polls.
The economy is one of the biggest concerns for Latinos, and two-thirds of Hispanic people polled in NBC News’ April survey thought the economy had not improved under Biden.
Trump held an event in New York City’s Bronx last week to reach Hispanic and black voters.
Florez said that under Trump, Latinos “had our great hour, our income was better.”
Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement that Biden has delivered “real results” for Latinos, citing lower health care costs, job creation that has resulted in record-low Latino unemployment, and “historic investments that have led to Latino -small businesses at the fastest pace in a decade.”
Florez said part of the appeal to Latinx people who support Trump is his unscripted style.
“He says the things we want to hear,” Florez said. “He doesn’t speak our language, but he says what he thinks.”
Florez referred to Trump’s speaking style with a phrase in Spanish: “al pan pan y al vino vino,” meaning Trump tells it like it is.
Trump’s critics, including the Biden campaign, have rejected some of the former president’s recent comments, including the possibility of jailing his political opponents.
“The American people and the Latino community deserve a president who is focused on delivering solutions for them and their families, instead of a wannabe dictator who is focused on himself and ripping away our basic freedoms,” Chavez Rodriguez said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
