Trump, Harris seek Latino votes with just two weeks to go

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump have promoted economic policy as their best chance to win Latino voters.

In an interview with Telemundo on Tuesday afternoon, Vice President Harris plans to highlight how her agenda would create more opportunities for Latino men — a strategy born out of roughly a dozen focus groups and polling.

The Democratic nominee intends to show off her plans to double the number of registered apprenticeships. She wants to stress how she would remove college degree requirements for certain federal government jobs and encourage private employers to do likewise. Harris also wants to provide forgivable loans worth up to $20,000 each to 1 million small businesses.

Former President Trump, the Republican nominee, made his own outreach to Latinos on Tuesday, hosting a roundtable with them in Doral, a Miami suburb.

Surrounded by elected officials and business leaders who are Latino, Trump touted the economy during his administration, which he argued was better for the Hispanic community than during the Biden administration.

The Trump and Harris campaigns see what could be an election-deciding opportunity with Latino men, who could swing the outcome in states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada if their traditional support for Democrats erodes. Trump believes he's made inroads among Latino men. Harris' team is seeking to shore up support within the same group with the election just two weeks away.

It sets up a question of whether memories of a Trump presidency or the promise of new policies under Harris will do more to energise Latino voters.

"We are very confident that these policies resonate because we've seen them resonate in speeches and focus groups," said Matt Barreto, a Harris campaign pollster. "It speaks to Latino men in particular about being successful and achieving the American dream."

'She's lazy'

On Tuesday at the Latino roundtable, Trump complimented Goya Foods, whose CEO, Bob Unanue, is a vocal supporter of the former president and attended the event.

"It's actually quite good out of the can," Trump said of the company known for its beans and other products.

Trump also disparaged Harris, whose schedule included meetings in Washington and interviews with Telemundo and NBC, but no public events.

"Who the hell takes off when you have 14 days left?" he told the group. "She's lazy. She's lazy as hell."

In a close race, the Harris campaign is betting that Latino men are getting more attuned to policy specifics as the election draws closer.

Based on focus groups, Barreto said the Harris campaign found that Latino men, in particular, wanted access to apprenticeships that could give people without college degrees access to a financially stable career.

Latino men also expressed a need for access to capital and credit to start companies, as the Treasury Department reported on October 10 that Latino business ownership is up 40 percent over pre-pandemic levels and could keep climbing with better financing options.

Trump hopes to convince Latinos that they can trust a fellow businessman such as himself, even as he's also called for the mass deportation of immigrants in the country illegally.

"Hispanic people — they say you can't generalise, but I think you can — they have wonderful entrepreneurship, and they have — oh, do you have such energy. Just ease up a little bit, OK? Ease up," Trump said at an October 12 event. "You have great ambition, you have great energy, very smart, and you really do like natural entrepreneurs."