President Joe Biden launches Latino outreach campaign in Phoenix: 'I desperately need your help'
Laura Gersony
President Joe Biden launched a new effort to reach out to Latino voters as Arizonans cast ballots in the state's presidential preference election.
Having swept decisive victories in the Democratic primaries so far, Biden easily won Tuesday's Arizona election. But his visit was an opportunity to advertise his accomplishments in office and mobilize his supporters as the focus shifts to the general election in November.
On Tuesday, Biden kicked off a new campaign initiative called Latinos con Biden-Harris, which aims to "engage and mobilize Latino voters, communities, and leaders across the country," his reelection campaign said.
Live updates:Arizona presidential preference election
"The Latino vote was critical to the President’s victory in 2020, and 2024 will be no different," Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign manager, said in a written statement. "Latinos con Biden-Harris will be essential to activating and mobilizing Latinos across the country, and importantly, is another way we are making clear with action that we are investing aggressively into earning the Latino vote. Our community has deep roots in organizing, and we are excited to harness that skillset to fight for our families, our communities, and against Donald Trump’s anti-Latino agenda. There’s too much at stake in this election."
Air Force One landed at 4:09 p.m. at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Biden exited the plane at 4:20 p.m. and was greeted by Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community and Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz.
From the airport, Biden's motorcade traveled to a downtown Phoenix Mexican restaurant for the Latinos con Biden-Harris event.
Biden said that Latinos make up about one-quarter of students in public school.
“Anybody that doesn’t pay attention to them is stupid,” Biden, leaning into the microphone, said to an audience of about 75 supporters at El Portal, a Mexican restaurant operated by community leaders Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox, both longtime Democrats.
“You're the reason why in large part I beat Donald Trump. … I desperately need your help,” he said.
Biden also zeroed in on Trump.
"This election is not a referendum on me," Biden said. "It’s an election between me and a guy named Trump."
Biden ripped Trump over his past comments about immigrants.
“In 2016, he called Latinos criminal, drug dealers, and rapists," Biden said. "What the hell is he talking about? … The reason we are the way we are is because we’re the most diverse country in the world."
Trump "only cares about the wealthy," Biden said.
Biden spoke for about 12 minutes, discussing the Trump tax cuts and his own “lower middle-class” background.
The presidential motorcade departed El Portal at 5:30 p.m.
Media contacts for Trump's campaign did not respond to a request for comment, but the National Republican Congressional Committee, reacting to the Biden campaign's Latinos con Biden-Harris announcement, on Tuesday called Biden's Phoenix stop "an exercise in futility."
"Biden is losing Latino voters' support because he is failing on the border, the economy and virtually every other issue voters care about," NRCC spokesperson Ben Petersen said. "Lip service and a cheap headline won’t fix the issues driving these voters away from Democrats in droves."
Jaime Florez, the Republican National Committee's Hispanic outreach and communications director, said Latino voters are becoming disenchanted with the Democrats.
“Democrats have taken the Hispanic community for granted for far too long, and no amount of money the Biden campaign spends will change the fact that Biden and Harris have been a disaster for our community, from the failing economy to the border crisis and the uncontrollable (rise) of crime in our neighborhoods," Florez said in a written statement. "Republicans will continue receiving with open arms thousands of Hispanics that are moving to our party, disappointed with Democrats and their policies, and will be fundamental to Republican victories all over the country in 2024."
Asked after the event why she believes some Latino voters are drawn to the Republican Party, Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano said: "I think it's that we have not been talking to folks about the issues that President Biden has been delivering on … things like jobs, the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, lowering prescription drug prices."She argued the recent fraud judgment against Trump undercuts the idea he has been a successful businessman."People like to be entertained. And sometimes, Donald Trump, what he does is provides entertainment," Bejarano said. "People laugh at his rallies. It's like they're going to a circus."
On Wednesday, Biden is expected to announce in Arizona a multibillion-dollar award for the technology company Intel to expand its semiconductor production in the U.S., Reuters has reported.
It wasn't Biden's first presidential visit to Arizona, a must-win swing state where he won by less than half a percentage point in 2020. Biden visited Arizona in September for a private campaign fundraiser and a public tribute to the legacy of John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential candidate who represented Arizona for six terms in the U.S. Senate.
In 2022, Biden visited to mark a milestone in the construction of a massive new semiconductor factory, which the president cited as a sign that "American manufacturing is back, folks."
Harris came to Phoenix earlier this month.
Biden arrived in Phoenix after stopping in Nevada, where in Las Vegas he talked about his plan to lower housing costs.
"Under his leadership, we have already taken action to lower housing costs and increase the housing supply by reducing mortgage insurance premiums, expanding rental assistance, and building tens of thousands of affordable housing units," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One. "While on the ground, the president will meet directly with everyday Americans, everyday people who have been able to secure affordable housing as a result of these investments."
A memo sent out by the Biden campaign ahead of this week's visit emphasized the contrast between himself and former President Donald Trump, his likely rival in the November election.
The memo noted that Democrats are building a robust ground game in Arizona while GOP efforts have been slower to materialize. It boasted that Arizona’s workforce for semiconductor manufacturing is projected to double, in part thanks to the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act passed under Biden, which helped spur billions of dollars in investments in the Phoenix metro area.
And it emphasized that Arizona has been an epicenter for Republican-led efforts to undermine recent elections, such as the discredited 2020 “audit” of presidential election ballots conducted by the former president’s allies.
“Across the Southwest, Donald Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda have taken over the Republican Party establishment, causing deep divisions among traditional GOP voters and an opening for Democrats that has increasingly become a trendline,” the memo reads. “When it comes to campaign infrastructure and the issues that matter most to voters, the Biden-Harris campaign has a clear advantage.”
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Trump has portrayed himself as a stronger leader for the U.S. economy, tapping into what polling suggests is widespread disapproval of Biden’s handling of the issue. He is arguing for sweeping tariffs as a way to boost U.S. manufacturing and has continued to allege widespread voter fraud in elections, a view that is shared by a passionate portion of the GOP electorate despite the fact that dozens of lawsuits have failed to surface evidence of those claims.
Biden’s visit comes at a time of some turbulence within his own party.
The president faced a protest vote campaign led by Arizona progressives over his handling of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. Organizers are urging Democrats to cast their ballots for Marianne Williamson, an author and presidential candidate who has for months advocated a cease-fire, instead of Biden.
Biden is trying to negotiate a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but he has stopped short of some progressives’ demands to suspend U.S. military support for Israel.
Protesters have questioned Harris and interrupted first lady Jill Biden on the issue during their recent visits to Arizona.
The Biden campaign has taken proactive measures to shield the president from protests on the topic, including holding smaller events and using a new level of secrecy for Biden's exact location, NBC News has reported.
Asked about the protest vote movement during a media call on Monday, campaign aides echoed Biden's past remarks that he is “earning and not just asking” for voters’ support, and added that the campaign would be “intentional about approaching everyone on issues such as this.”
"The conflict between Israel and Hamas is painful. It's a difficult situation. And (Biden) believes, and his campaign believes, that people have every right to make their voices heard," the aide said. "In many respects, the president shares the goal of many who remain uncommitted, which is working towards an end to the violence and working towards a just and lasting peace."
Laura Gersony covers national politics for The Arizona Republic. Contact her at lgersony@gannett.com or 480-372-0389.