(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump is making his last pitch for the White House in the last couple weeks of the 2024 election.
At a roundtable event for Latino voters in Florida, Trump talked about his economic impact on the Hispanic community when he was in office.
“This love affair has been going on pretty much from the beginning now,” Trump said. “(In) 2016 it was a little early, but then I started producing for them and they produced for the country, because the level of genius, entrepreneurship, energy that they have — it’s an incredible community. And I liked them, and they liked me, and now they’re seeing numbers that are shocking.”
In South Florida, there’s a large Cuban community that largely backs the former president. A USA Today/Suffolk University poll shows Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris losing ground with Latino voters as well — 38% say they plan to cast their ballot for her compared to 49% leaning toward Trump.
Hispanics are a group of voters that could account for close to 15% of the vote, meaning they could sway the outcome in battleground states.
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“I just saw a poll that we’re actually leading with Hispanics. That’s never happened before,” Trump said. “I mean, (Harris) is sleeping right now. She couldn’t go on the trail. You know, you think when you have 14 days left, you wouldn’t be sleeping. She’s not doing anything today.”
NBC News pointed out that it’s not true that the vice president isn’t doing anything — while Harris did not have any campaign events scheduled for Tuesday, she had interviews planned with their anchor, Hallie Jackson, and Telemundo’s Julio Vaqueiro.
NewsNation partner The Hill writes that Trump has been talking to Spanish-language outlets as well. Just under a week ago, he participated in a town hall with Univision. Trump, in the town hall, detailed his plans to crack down on immigration, the border and the economy.
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With the election winding down, it’s still possible for new people to join Trump on the campaign trail, including an ex-rival.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who ran against Trump in the Republican primary, is reportedly in talks with the Trump campaign to join him at an event at some point. Sources told NewsNation that Haley’s team had provided a couple of dates to the Trump camp that could work for such an appearance.
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Once United Nations ambassador under the Trump administration, Haley endorsed him after ending her own campaign despite being previously critical of him.
Asked about this on “Fox & Friends” Friday, Trump just said, “I’ll do what I have to do.”
“They keep talking about Nikki, Nikki. I like Nikki. Nikki, I don’t think, should have done what she did, and that’s fine that she did it,” Trump said, referring to her running against him, according to NewsNation partner The Hill. “But even in her own state — in South Carolina, where she was the governor — I beat her by a number.”
Trump, The Hill noted, repeatedly disparaged Haley, calling her a “bird brain” in the primary.
