5 takeaways from Trump Hispanic roundtable in North Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Former President Donald Trump told a North Las Vegas audience Saturday that he is winning over more Latino voters, something that “nobody ever thought possible.”

“It’s an incredible group of people. It’s an honor to have you on my side,” Trump said during a roundtable discussion at a warehouse in North Las Vegas.

The former president joined Hispanic community members and Nevada candidates Saturday afternoon to highlight his economic plans and compare them with those of the Biden-Harris administration.

At Beauty Society, a skin care manufacturer, about 200 in attendance jumped to their feet and roared when Trump was introduced. They listened to Trump speak for about 15 minutes, and they heard from GOP Senate candidate Sam Brown and local business owners who described how they’re struggling under the Biden-Harris administration.

“We’re on a Democratic diet right now, and I’m tired of being on that diet,” said Lydia Dominguez, an author and Air Force veteran during the roundtable.

Here’s five things to know about the event.

1. The event is the latest in campaigns’ efforts to entice Latino voters.

The former president’s roundtable comes two days after Vice President Kamala Harris visited Las Vegas to participate in a Univision town hall. Trump is also expected to participate in a similar town hall from Florida.

Both presidential candidates have tried to appeal to a coveted voting bloc: Nevada’s Latinos, who make up 1 in 5 registered voters in the Silver State. In a race of inches, and in a swing state like Nevada, the demographic could be pivotal in deciding the next president.

“It will be Latinos in Nevada who will determine who walks into the White House in January,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, during a news conference held by the Harris campaign in Las Vegas ahead of Trump’s visit.

Recent polling from UnidosUS, a Latino-centered civil liberties nonprofit, shows Harris leading among registered Latino voters in Nevada with 57 percent saying they were definitely, probably or leaning toward the Democrat, compared with Trump’s 34 percent.

Ten percent remained undecided, according to the poll.

The Trump and Harris campaigns have deployed resources geared toward persuading Latinos to vote for their candidates. They’ve held phone banks and knocked on doors, and they’ve hosted rallies geared toward the Latino community. Harris recently held a rally at the Expo at the World Market Center to describe how her policies will help Latinos.

Trump pitched his no tax on tips policy at a fusion Mexican restaurant, and Harris held her Noticias Univision town hall Thursday at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

2. Trump gives his pitch on Saturday.

On Saturday, Trump and the other participants described how his policies will help Latinos in Nevada.

Trump said Democrats hate the country and are evil by allowing drug lords into the country. He spoke about transgender operations on prisoners. He described President Joe Biden’s dropout from the race.

“I believe he likes me more than Kamala,” he said.

Trump said that under his presidency, Hispanic families’ homeownership was at the highest level and Hispanic American poverty was the lowest, and he said he cut taxes and regulations for Hispanic-owned small businesses.

He said the Latino community in America has “great ambition, great energy,” and he described them as “very smart and natural entrepreneurs.”

Trump added: “It’s an honor to have you on our side.”

Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue, calling Harris “Que Mala,” said the Democratic Party has abandoned Latinos. He described the increase in costs for his business as well as housing. He also talked about the exploitation of Latinos in human trafficking.

A man in the crowd yelled the campaign slogan, which rhymes with Kamala and translates to “how bad.”

Democrats defended Harris at a news conference Friday ahead of Trump visit, where they compared and contrasted the economy under Trump and under Biden.

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., said Trump inherited a good economy from Obama and highlighted how the Strip was shut down during COVID-19 under Trump.

“We weren’t better off,” Titus said. “Then we’ve got some things to do, but if we want to do it and move forward, then we’ve got to count on Kamala Harris to get it done. We certainly can’t count on Donald Trump.”

She said Harris has plans to boost affordable housing and help middle-class families through expanded child tax credits and going after corporate landlords.

3. Union support is underlined.

Though unions have historically supported Democrats, Republicans have tried to appear more pro-union and move some of the large working voting bloc to their side.

The national Teamsters organization, which for years has endorsed Democratic candidates, declined to endorse a president in the 2024 election, though a number of Teamster locals — including in Nevada — broke ranks with the national organization and endorsed Harris.

At the roundtable, Trump said unions will be affected by illegal immigrants entering the country and said, “They’re stealing your jobs.”

Brian Ursua, a member of Teamsters Local 631, praised the former president and said the economy was better under him.

4. Trump repeats his common campaign trail talking points in Nevada.

Saturday marked the former president’s sixth trip to Nevada this year, and similar to Harris’ many visits to the Silver State, there have been many talking points Nevadans have heard repeated by the candidates.

The former president repeated his usual attacks on his opponent. He lambasted Harris for supporting his plan on no taxes on tips, which he had first introduced during a Las Vegas rally in June. After Harris entered the presidential race, she expressed support for ending taxes on tips — and coupled the proposal with an increase in the minimum wage.

He also repeated a major point for his campaign: the border. He spoke about immigrants entering the country illegally and stealing jobs, and he said he won in 2016 because of the border.

“This is many many times worse than it was in 2016,” he said.

Absent, however, were his previous statements he made about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio.

Trump ended his speech repeating the importance of the 2024 election and encouraging Nevadans to get out and vote.

“Nov. 5 is going to go down as maybe the most important day, I hope,” he said. “It will be the most important day in the history of the country.”

5. Latino participants share their American Dream story.

Several attendees shared their stories as immigrants.

Linda Fornos said she immigrated from Nicaragua “the right way” and worked hard raising her kids. She said there are three people in her house working to support the family.

She said it is frustrating that Democrats say they stand for Latino people, but “they have done nothing.”

Iris Ramos Jones, an immigrant from Ecuador, said nationals from other countries know how bad things can get “if we do not defend our freedom.”

Trump responded: “We’re gonna have a lot of people coming in, but they’re gonna come in legally.”

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