Donald Trump is trying to win over Latino voters by presenting himself as a victim of socialists.
The former president chose Hialeah, Florida – which has a 95-percent Latino population – for his rally last week to counter the Republican presidential debate, and he raged about his felony indictments as "persecution" for what he called his resistance to communism, and local supporters say that message could resonate, reported Axios.
"A lot of folks that fled Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba ... understand full well what political indictments look like," said Hialeah mayor Esteban Bovo, who backs Trump.
Trump's campaign will expand the strategy they're using to appeal to Cuban Americans in South Florida to air Spanish-language ads in South Texas, Arizona and Nevada on the economy and border security.
Hispanics in those states are more likely to support Democrats than those in Florida, and President Joe Biden is also planning an aggressive campaign for their votes, especially in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
It's unclear whether Trump's "victim" strategy will work with Mexican-Americans and other Latinos outside Florida, but Republicans have made gains with Latino voters in recent elections.
But Democrats plan to counter that strategy by pointing out that Trump, despite claiming to be a victim of government overreach, is openly planning to increase presidential powers and take revenge on his enemies if wins another term in the White House.
"Latinos continue to support Democrats overwhelmingly. That being said, we are not taking any of this for granted," said Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.
