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At least 94 employees of the campaign of Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden reported mistreatment of Hispanic staff and “suppression of the Hispanic vote” in Central Florida.
“The [Coordinated Campaign of Florida] is suppressing the Hispanic vote by removing Spanish-speaking organizers from Central Florida without explanation, which fails to confront a system of white-dominated politics we are supposed to be working against as organizers of a progressive party,” they said in a letter addressed to the Democratic Party.
Employees of Puerto Rico origin reported that their location of work was changed against their will, away from their community, according to the Miami Herald. They demand a return to their original jobs and an apology from campaign officials.
A Democratic official told the Hill that the discontent comes amid negotiations between the Florida Coordinated Campaign, the campaign arm of the Florida Democrats, and the field organizers’ union, IBEW Local 824.
Biden has faced previous allegations of racism
It’s not the first time Biden has disrespected his Hispanic supporters. “Poor children are as bright as white children,” he said at an event for Asian and Hispanic voters.
Trump mocked Joe Biden for his gaffe at the Asian & Latino Coalition event, where Biden said:
"We have this notion that somehow if you’re poor, you cannot do it. Poor kids are just as bright, just as talented as white kids," and hastily corrected himself to say "wealthy kids" pic.twitter.com/VDJiQh54MZ
— POLITICO (@politico) August 9, 2019
The most prominent case of racial insensitivity came just days before the death of George Floyd, which sparked the mass protests after a police officer appeared on videotape choking Floyd with his knee.
Biden told the interviewer Charlemagne, “if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black,” when Charlemagne dared to say he wanted to ask Biden more questions.
In other words, just as Biden equated two ethnic groups with poverty, he challenged a person’s racial identity if he did not assume a single-minded political stance.
Moreover, almost as a premonition, Charlemagne himself had the following to say about people like Biden in an interview with CNN in September 2019: “These are the people who have historically put their feet on our necks.”
Charlemagne referred to the fact that in 1994, Biden co-created the law that has imprisoned many Black men. He also referred to when Biden gave a speech at the funeral of one of the most prominent segregationists.
In September, Charlamagne talked about how Joe Biden refused to visit the show, offering to send a surrogate instead.
“I look at Joe Biden & I look at the 94 crime bills, I look at the 88 crack laws. Like that’s not being in support of African Americans at all.” #YouAintBlack pic.twitter.com/gcqQTiivtf
— Courtney Holland ?? (@hollandcourtney) May 22, 2020
Hispanics are the largest minority in the U.S.
Now Biden is trying to portray himself as a champion of minorities. And the one minority that accounts for the most votes is the Hispanic community. Hispanics make up about 18 % of the population, around 60 million people, of which 32 million are of voting age and eligibility.
Therefore, Biden faces a serious challenge in the state of Florida since a large part of the Hispanic population has escaped from socialist regimes and therefore does not support the Democratic Party. President Trump even kicked off his election campaign by appealing to the Hispanic community and promised them, “America will never be socialist.”
Florida is crucial to the presidential election
Since elections in the U.S. are not won by majority vote, but through representation, there are the “Bellwether” states that effectively determine election results, and Florida is the largest of these states.
According to the Polyas election glossary, “Bellwether states are those states in the U.S. whose electorates tend to reflect the voting behavior of the entire country. Thus, candidates favored in bellwether states in presidential elections generally end up winning the election as a whole.”
Thus, Biden’s mistreatment of Hispanic campaign staff can have severe consequences not only in the state but the national election.
