Trump tries to woo Latino voters, but some see an empty gesture
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday with the goal of expanding job and educational opportunities as he seeks Latino support, about 100 days before the November elections.
The executive order aims to return to the economic levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, when unemployment nationwide, and for Latinos in particular, was among the lowest on record. Since the growing coronavirus pandemic began in March, both the economy and Trump's approval have plummeted.
The Administration created the so-called "White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative" that includes promoting "private sector initiatives and public-private partnerships to improve access to educational and economic opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
But the president's opponents viewed the order as an "empty gesture."
"I see what he says, not what he does," Lourdes Diaz, president of the Hispanic Democratic caucus in Broward County, South Florida, told Telemundo News. "I can't forget that he says 'Build the wall and that Mexicans pay for it'—I used to feel American and now I don't, now it's 'Get back to where you came from.'"
Díaz mentions her frustration with how the president has handled the pandemic, his friendly treatment toward Russia's authoritarian president, Vladimir Putin and how he broke his promise with the Dreamers over DACA.
"And the unemployment stimulus money? Nice to sign the slip, but people are lining up every week to get food," said Diaz, who called Trump "the worst president we've ever had."
Among Latinos, Trump has a disapproval rate of 69 percent, according to the Pew Research Center, and two-thirds of them say they support his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. About one-third of Latinos (32 percent) say they support the President.
Boycott backlash over Goya's Trump support
Some Latinos businessmen who support Trump met with him at the White House on Thursday as he signed the executive order. Among these was Goya President Robert Unanue, whose lavish praise of Trump drew fierce backlash and became a Twitter trend on Thursday.
"We are truly blessed to have a leader like President Donald Trump, who is a builder. And that's what my grandfather did, he came to this country to build, to grow, to prosper," said Unanue. "So, we have an amazing builder (points to the president) and we pray for our leaders, for our president, and we pray for our country, that it continues to prosper. "
Voto Latino, the largest Latino voter mobilization group targeting young Latinos, was among the groups that swiftly condemned Unanue's comments. "Yo Goya, tell your man to stop praising a racist. Latinos made him and his family rich by buying Goya products for decades," they said on Twitter.
Many called for a boycott of the brand's products, which are mostly aimed at Latino consumers.
"And just like that, my family will never buy Goya products ever again," activist Santiago Mayer, who is dedicated to encouraging Latinos to vote, told his 58,000 followers on Twitter.
And just like that, my household is never buying Goya again. https://t.co/yzpjB9GddV
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) July 9, 2020
Over thirteen percent of eligible voters are Latino, a record-breaking percentage, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. In Arizona, 24 percent of eligible voters this year also belong to this minority, according to the Center, 2 percentage points more than in 2016. In Florida, Latinos are projected to be 20 percent of eligible voters.
Part of the diversity among Latinos is the diversity of ideologies, and "President Trump has a strong group of Latinos who support him," Adryana Aldeen, a Republican analyst of Mexican descent, told Telemundo News.
"This executive order will help Hispanics receive training, educational opportunities, and promote school choice, free school choice. I think that can be positive for all families," said Aldeen.
The Hispanic White House initiative even lives under the Department of Education, led by the controversial Betsy DeVos, who has made it a priority to expand school choice.
Aldeen, a resident of Texas, said the executive order could be an effective strategy and a "genuine gesture to grow the economy of middle-income families."
It's also not a coincidence Trump announced the initiative the same day he met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), said Aldeen, who joined a White House call with Latino leaders around AMLO's visit.
"I can imagine that behind this moment there was an aide who said to him, 'This is the moment that can help you,' before the election," Aldeen said.
But Aldeen conceded that Trump's other recent policies, such as canceling visas for foreign students who take classes online or with Trump's efforts to end DACA
For Aldeen, who considers herself a center-right Republican, ending visas for foreign students "would be very harmful to the United States," he said. "I don't believe in nationalism. I think diversity is important. For the president, it's 'America First '."
Going back to Thursday's executive order, Aldeen said that "if this had been signed by (former Democratic President) Barack Obama, the Democrats would have applauded it," Aldeen said. "It is not a bad order, it is who is signing it."
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