‘He insults Latinos’: Harris makes last anti-Trump argument in Phoenix

In the final stretch of the 2024 presidential race, the Kamala Harris campaign is determined to tie Donald Trump to disparaging marks made about Latinos, including a shot at Puerto Ricans made by a comedian at one of Trump’s recent rallies.

By doing so, the Harris campaign hopes to shore up its support among Latinos in swing states such as Arizona.

That’s why Harris was in Phoenix on Thursday afternoon. At a rally at the 20,000-seat Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre that also featured famed norteño band Los Tigres del Norte, the vice president and Democratic nominee told the crowd that reelecting Trump would bring the return of policies that hurt the Latino community.

“He insults Latinos, scapegoats immigrants,” Harris told the crowd. “And it’s not just what he says, it’s what he will do. If elected, you can be sure he will bring back family separation policies, only on a much greater scale than last time. It is time now to turn the page on Donald Trump.”

The visit, five days before Election Day, was Harris’ fourth since becoming the nominee in June. That reflects Arizona’s new status as a swing state, but also the importance of the Latino vote. Other major Arizona political figures recognize that Latino voters in Phoenix could swing the election to one candidate.

“This community right here in South Phoenix has the power to decide who the next president of the United States is. That is a huge deal, folks,” Sen. Mark Kelly told the audience at the rally. “If we work harder over the next five days, we’re going to turn the page and move this country forward.”

According to polling from TelevisaUnivision, Harris enjoyed a strong lead over Trump among Latino voters in September, with 52% definitely supporting her and 18% definitely supporting Trump. Plenty of voters were still up for grabs — 29% said they hadn’t decided.

However, a mid-October CBS poll showed Harris with 56% support from likely Latino voters in Arizona compared with Trump’s 42%, which is a slightly smaller margin than President Joe Biden won those voters in 2020. With the overall race nearly deadlocked according to multiple polls, it’s no coincidence that Harris has turned to popular Latino figures such as George Lopez and Los Tigres del Norte to help make her pitch.

“For the Latino community, having this kind of surrogate is huge,” Raquel Terán, a former state senator and Arizona Democratic Party chair, told Phoenix New Times at the rally.

Missed opportunity?

While Harris courted Latino voters, the Trump campaign has been attempting damage control after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe disparaged Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage” at a rally in New York last weekend.

Despite the outreach to Latino voters, Democrats in Arizona have been slow to capitalize on that and other racist comments from Trump and his surrogates.

On Oct. 22, the Atlantic reported that as president, Trump balked at paying for the funeral of murdered Army soldier Vanessa Guillén. “It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a fucking Mexican!” Trump reportedly said.

While some notable Latino leaders such as Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro hit back immediately — “Trump has nothing but contempt for Latinos, women, and our servicemembers,” Castro said on social media — many figures in Arizona were silent.

Tony Cani, a Democratic political strategist and founder of Slingshot Campaigns, told New Times there could be a few reasons for that.

“Part of the challenge is that we’re operating in an environment where Trump saying these kinds of things is just considered normal,” Cani said. “Part of it is that candidates have to make a calculation about which of the terrible, horrible, offensive things they’re saying to focus on.”

Like Guillén, Ricardo Reyes is a Latino veteran. Now an organizer with Common Defense in Arizona, he told New Times that he was asked by an Arizona campaign to participate in a press conference about the burial comment. The presser was ultimately canceled because Guillén’s family was not comfortable with the idea.

But at the Harris rally on Thursday, Reyes told New Times how bothered he was by Trump’s reported remark.

“Our culture is very important to us. So for him to say, ‘It doesn’t take that much to bury a fucking Mexican,’ it is beyond disrespectful,” Reyes said. “He thinks we’re beneath him. I assume that when Trump is buried, it’s going to cost way more than $60,000, and I’m sure his family is not going to say, ‘It doesn’t take $60,000 to bury a fucking Trump.’”

Taking advantage

The Hinchcliffe joke has generated more of a public reaction. On Wednesday, state Sens. Anna Hernandez and Catherine Miranda released a statement of condemnation.

“Anyone using their national attention to make disparaging comments and engage in derogatory, cheap and racist comedy at the expense of our neighbors should feel ashamed,” Miranda wrote.

At the rally, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero reminded attendees that Trump’s political origins come from denigrating immigrants.

“Donald Trump told us what he thinks of Mexicans and immigrants. He called us ‘murderers’ and ‘rapists.’ He said Mexico sends its worst,” Romero told the crowd. “I am the proud daughter of Jose Romero and Josefina Visu, two hardworking Mexican immigrants who worked the fields in this country and put food on all of our tables. They were not the worst.”

The Thursday rally likely will mark Harris’ final visit to Arizona before ballots are counted. She certainly hopes she made a lasting final impression.

“Arizona, we have five days to get this done,” Harris said. “No one can sit on the sidelines.”