Donald Trump wasn’t shy about why he traveled to New Mexico on Thursday — he said the trip is good for his “credentials” with the Latino community and that he wanted to put in time meeting with Latino voters.
New Mexico is a blue state and not a presidential battleground, but Trump used it to cite his gains with Latino voters in the 2020 election, including in South Texas. He also made a case for why they should support him, a closing pitch in the final stretch of the campaign in which he tried to appeal to Latinos on business and immigration, promising “a level playing field.”
“Don’t make me waste a whole damn half a day here,” Trump said, boasting that “Hispanics love Trump.”
Trump then went on to take a “free poll,” asking attendees if they preferred the term “Hispanic” or “Latino.” He told the audience he had gotten into an argument on the plane on his way there over which term the New Mexico crowd would prefer.
Latino voters have historically been strong supporters of Democratic candidates, and Trump has a long history of making offensive remarks aimed at them. But subtle shifts among demographics in such a tight election could have an outsize impact, and that is clearly front of mind for Trump and his campaign.
“As President Trump has said, he will be a president for all Americans, including those in traditionally blue states that Kamala Harris and the Democrats have left behind,” said Anna Kelly, an RNC spokesperson, in a statement to NOTUS. “Kamala Harris’ dangerously liberal policies have failed Americans across the country — from the Bronx, to Virginia, and New Mexico.”
Trump’s presence in a state with a big Latino population comes on the heels of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s offensive remarks at the Trump campaign’s Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday. They included Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and saying that Latinos “love making babies.”
Trump’s campaign has distanced itself from the comments, and he’s often glossed over the controversy. On Thursday in Albuquerque, he made no reference to it. During a Mar-a-Lago press conference on Tuesday, Trump called the rally “beautiful” and a “lovefest.”
He has also taken steps to reach out to Latino voters since Sunday, including at a Tuesday rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which has a large Latino population, where Trump said, “Nobody loves our Latino and our Puerto Rican community more than I do.”
He also skipped making direct comments on Hinchcliffe’s remarks there.
The visit to New Mexico was puzzling to many, given the state’s Democratic tilt. The state hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate since George W. Bush in 2004, and Kamala Harris is heavily favored to win the state this cycle.
“I think it’s very strange, and I can only think that it’s a tip of the hat to gain national publicity and encourage Hispanic support,” said Dede Feldman, former Democratic New Mexico state senator. “But it will not work here in New Mexico.”
Trump has a long history of sowing doubt in election results, and he continued that in Albuquerque, arguing that he could win the state this year if the “votes are kept honest.” He incorrectly claimed that he had won New Mexico twice in the past.
“New Mexicans have rejected Donald Trump’s divisive and extreme politics twice, and we’re going to do it again on Tuesday,” said Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a post on X.
—
Torrence Banks is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.