Biden, looking to bolster Latino support, cancels speech after Covid diagnosis

Facing calls to bow out of the presidential race, President Joe Biden was primed Wednesday to speak to a usually supportive audience of Latino leaders and community organizers, but minutes before his speech, it was announced that he had tested positive for Covid.

Biden’s appearance at the UnidosUS conference in Las Vegas was already delayed when Janet Murguía, the group’s president, looking a little teary-eyed, appeared onstage and announced that the president had called her to say that he could not make it.

“The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for Covid,” she said to audible groans in the audience. “He obviously didn’t want to put anyone at risk and said to tell my folks that we’re not going to get rid of him that quickly.”

Phoenix City Councilman Carlos Galindo-Elvira, who had snagged a front-row seat for the speech Wednesday at the national UnidosUS conference in Las Vegas, said the virus is not a sign that Biden should withdraw from the presidential race, as some Democrats have been calling for.

“The president showed leadership and stayed true to the work he’s done on fighting Covid. I’m glad he called Janet Murguía and let her know personally, and I’m glad that he followed the precautions that he always touted at the height of the pandemic.”

Sure he was disappointed that he didn’t get a close-up view of Biden, “but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to have a front-row seat when history is made and he’s re-elected,” Galindo-Elvira said.

Biden’s scheduled speech — officially a White House event and not a campaign event — came just hours after a prominent House member, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called on Biden to step down amid growing questions about Biden’s age, health and cognitive ability.

The speech Wednesday was another chance for Biden to dispel those concerns, while also shoring up Latino support and rallying community leaders he needs to help him to energize and turn out Hispanic voters in November.

In this year’s tight presidential race, Biden’s performance with Latino voters is critical. Although he won 65% of the Latino vote in 2020, polls are suggesting that some of that support may be slipping.

Democrats, recognizing the urgency of holding on to their Latino advantage, started spending early and substantially to reach Latino voters.

But worries over the spike in the prices of food, housing and other necessities following the pandemic and wariness about Biden’s competence and age — especially after his June 27 debate with Donald Trump — have thrown the 2-1 Latino preference for him in 2020 into question.

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights, spoke earlier at the conference, referring to the crowd as “fellow foot soldiers in the fight against racism and discrimination”and touting the president’s civil rights accomplishments. Clarke noted that the Biden Justice Department secured 90 life sentences for the gunman who killed 23 mostly Latino people and wounded 22 others in the 2019 shooting massacre at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The shooter told police he was targeting Hispanics and referred to rhetoric of an immigrant “invasion” espoused by Trump and other Republican leaders.

Last month, Clarke said, a DOJ investigation found that the Phoenix police department and city had discriminated against Latino, Black and Native American people.

Before Wednesday’s planned speech, the White House announced that Biden would sign an executive order establishing a White House initiative to strengthen Hispanic-Serving Institutions. There are about 600 HSIs — universities and colleges where at least a quarter of their full-time undergraduate student population is Hispanic.

Galindo-Elvira said he largely found support for Biden when he recently spent 49 hours in the Arizona heat, walking 101,000 steps and knocking on the doors of 1,153 homes to gather signatures to run for the seat that he holds now as an appointee.

He spoke to about 290 households; the majority were Latino and many middle age, he said.

“They shared with me they still believe in the president” and want him to win, he said.

His district is made up of people of modest means, so “they want somebody that is going to be their champion.”

“Some people believe that the attempt to push him out isn’t coming from the people; it’s coming from other forces, but they still believe in the work he’s done,” Galindo-Elvira said.

Luis Sandoval, executive director of the Building Skills Partnership in California, said there is great fear of the unknown among Latino workers, including immigrants in low-wage industries who his organization assists in skill building and improving their quality of life.

He said immigrant workers are concerned about the rhetoric of the election. Those in other jobs such as janitorial, are anxious about the economy, in particular the commercial real estate market and the slow or non-return of workers to offices, which affects their jobs.

Sandoval said his group is going to roll out a program to urge people to vote. As a nonprofit, the group can’t support a candidate. As a private citizen, Sandoval said the Biden administration has been worker-friendly and stood for workers’ rights and included workers’ voices in its labor strategy.

Trump’s pick of Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate is being seen as the former president’s attempt to appeal to blue-collar workers.

A delegate fields doubts

The intraparty fracas has made for a frantic foray for Democratic convention delegates such as Juanita Martinez of Eagle Pass, Texas. She is the first Democratic convention delegate from Maverick County, part of which is on the U.S.-Mexico border, she said.

Speaking to NBC News last week before the assassination attempt on Trump, Martinez said that she has been fielding numerous calls and conversations with people, from supermarket shoppers to her cardiologist. People were asking her about the president’s disastrous debate and whether Biden should continue as the party’s candidate.

Most who called with opinions seemed to want another option instead of Biden, but many of those callers aren’t from her county, Martinez said. She said she couldn’t yet say whether he should step aside.

“Up to now, yes, I’m with Biden and we’ll see what happens,” Martinez said. “It’s an interesting time to be a delegate.”