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The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper
The Latino Vote, Ana Navarro's American Tour. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired October 19, 2024 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:30]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to THE WHOLE STORY. I'm Anderson Cooper.
There are five weeks left until the election and the race remains extremely tight, especially in the critical swing states. Winning some of these states could come down to one key demographic, the Latino vote. Latinos are the second largest and fastest-growing group of voters in the United States. The majority of them have historically voted for Democrats but a growing number of Latinos have become Republicans and many now support former president Donald Trump.
CNN political contributor Ana Navarro is a Republican who's now supporting Vice President Harris in this race and recently spoke at the Democratic National Convention. She's been one of Trump's harshest and most outspoken critics.
And in the next hour, she travels across the U.S. to see for herself why Trump appeals to Latino voters and which issues matter the most to them in this election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANA NAVARRO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We keep hearing about the Latino vote. This mythical Latino vote. At any given moment, any news channel you're bound to hear about the Latino vote. And a lot of times, it's not Latinos talking about it. It's talking heads in Washington or New York, not exactly the communities that are going to make or break the election. I think the Latino vote could be crucial to deciding these elections, and I wanted to hear it from actual Latinos.
How much is being Latino part of your identity?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you're looking at it now.
This is the one and only Puerto Rico club.
NAVARRO: We're in the Heights, Luis Miranda.
How do you describe yourself?
LUIS MIRANDA, AUTHOR AND POLITICAL STRATEGIST: I'm Puerto Rican and Latino.
NAVARRO: You even call yourselves Latines. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I say Latine because it rhymes with saltine and I
like it.
MIRANDA: I'm Chicano Mexican-American kid from L.A.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Cuban until the Mariachis come out. Viva Mexico.
NAVARRO: Hi. Bienvenidos, Miami. Come in. Come in to Cha-Cha's house where she sporadically lets me live. (Speaking in foreign language).
The house is from 1923. It's called Old Spanish, which is a very typical architecture here in old Miami. Miami is a place where there is a little Havana. There's a little Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. There's Dor Azuela. There's little Haiti. There's so many factors that go into defining each Latino for whom they are and who they're going to vote for.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And CNN eye projects Donald Trump will carry the state of Florida with its 29 electoral --
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You see how well I'm doing with Hispanic? Did you see? They're going crazy. We have a 96 percent approval rating with Cuban Americans. 96. 96 percent.
NAVARRO: We should not underestimate the job and the work that Republicans have done with Latinos that Trump has done with Cuban Americans and in South Florida in particular. He's been very good microtargeting certain pockets and certainly one of them was where we're standing right now, Miami-Dade County.
I don't like Trump, but I recognize that he worked hard at getting this community.
TRUMP: I love Cuba.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cubans for Trump.
TRUMP: I see all these signs, Cubans for Trump, Cubans.
NAVARRO: I think they felt like a favorite class. And it paid off. It paid off.
Miami is very much of a melting pot. We have a lot of communities that have developed around different waves of immigration.
[22:05:02]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wary refugees are led off to the coast guard buildings.
NAVARRO: The original exiles were the Cubans. They came in 1959 and through the '60s. That original wave of Cubans who fled Castro, who fled communism.
When I think of Trump, he reminds me of a lot of things that I've seen in some of the strongmen in Latin America that we all fled from, right, the attacks on the free press.
TRUMP: Look at all the fake news.
NAVARRO: The wanting to tear up the Constitution and stay in power. There's something about the strongman that appeals to our idiosyncrasy in some ways. And it's what we grew up with. Men don't cry, men don't show softness, don't show compassion, don't show emotion. Thats kind of ingrained into Latins from the moment we're born and I think they see that toughness and bravado and they equated to leadership in Trump.
I'm feeling very vulnerable about being on camera without hair and makeup. If you ask me what am I, who am I, I would tell you I'm a hyphenated American. I'm Nicaraguan-American. I feel very Latina. I feel very Nicaraguan. I feel very much a Miami girl. I've been raised here since I was 8. 1980, which was a year of a lot of turmoil and action in Miami because it was the same year as the Mariel boatlift.
It was the year when a bunch of Nicaraguans like me were fleeing the Sandinistas. It was a year where a lot of Central Americans were fleeing because there were civil wars. Then in Nicaragua a conflict bled into El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, there were a lot of problems in Venezuela, in Panama.
My parents tried to protect me as much as they could from what was happening outside. But they were trying to still give me the life of a normal little girl. There was a bunch of immigrants coming into the U.S. And at that time, a lot of them were settling in Miami. We fled.
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I Ronald Reagan do solemnly swear.
NAVARRO: And that coincide in 1980 was also the year when Ronald Reagan got elected.
REAGAN: Office of president of the United States.
NAVARRO: Here was this good looking, eloquent cowboy, Ronald Reagan, defending the freedom fighters and standing up against communism.
REAGAN: While they preach the supremacy of the state they are the focus of evil in the modern world.
NAVARRO: Not only was he standing up against communism that I fled but he also was the guy responsible for giving me U.S. residency and citizenship.
REAGAN: The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
NAVARRO: Of course, I was a Ronald Reagan Republican. There's little corner is like the altar to the now defunct Republican Party. I've been a Republican all my life, I worked on Republican campaigns. I was John McCain's National Hispanic chair. I supported Jeb Bush.
So what I am I? I'm a woman. I'm a Latina. I'm Nicaraguan-American. I'm a Miamian. I'm an activist. I'm also fully American. Some people may not like it. Some people may not agree and now because I'm anti- Trump, all of those people who were part of my social circle, political circle, call me a communist and call me a socialist, me, who fled communism. I get called a communist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you call yourself a never Trumper?
NAVARRO: No, I never refer to myself as a never Trumper because I just don't want to be defined by this guy. I call myself a disgruntled Republican at this point. I think I'm kind of like a woman without a party. In my family there's division. There's people who are very supportive of Trump. We have to learn to coexist. We have got to learn to coexist. Doesn't mean that I will ever agree but I'm interested in listening.
Ed!
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to Texas.
NAVARRO: (Speaking in foreign language).
LAVANDERA: (Speaking in foreign language).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:11:44]
NAVARRO: This is the southernmost tip of Texas and the northern bank of the Rio Grande River which divides the U.S. from Mexico. We're starting here because there's been a significant shift in politics here.
The Rio Grande Valley is 90 percent Latino. It's a microcosm for what's going on in America. We're on our way to meet up with Ed Lavandera, CNN correspondent, who's been covering this region for years and years.
LAVANDERA: Welcome to Texas.
NAVARRO: (Speaking in foreign language).
LAVANDERA: Bienvenida. (Speaking in foreign language).
NAVARRO: Ed, get me out of this truck. Nobody told me there'd be exercise. How you doing?
LAVANDERA: So good to see you.
NAVARRO: So where are we?
LAVANDERA: We are near the little city called Harlingen. And this is a really massive area. Kind of a quiet place, right, like -- but because of immigration in the last 10 years this place has really been put on the map.
NAVARRO: So what brings you here today? LAVANDERA: This has been a very, very strong Democratic area for the
state. But in recent years, we've actually seen Republicans making inroads down here.
NAVARRO: Do you it's Trump specific or do you think it's the Republican Party?
LAVANDERA: That's a hard question to answer. I think Donald Trump and the Republican Party probably combined. We interviewed a gentleman named Ruperto Escobar, who's a farmer. He lives in a little community near Roma, Texas, Escobares. His family is from that area for centuries now.
NAVARRO: And is Ruperto vocal about his politics?
LAVANDERA: Yes. He's been vocal for a while. The Bush family turned him into a Republican years ago. He describes himself as a Hispanic American, but he doesn't have kind of that identity that you and I had. So it kind of really speaks to how difficult it is to kind of pinpoint the Latino vote and the Latino identity.
Does this view get old for you?
RUPERTO ESCOBAR, FARMER: No. It's a beautiful view in it. It never gets old. Right now, it's very quiet, calm. It almost looks nice. But at night, this place comes alive. And you don't want to be here.
That's my grandmother's house. It's abandoned now, but I grew up in there with my grandma.
LAVANDERA: What kinds of problems have you had with smugglers here on the property?
ESCOBAR: One evening, I was coming from the field, driving the tractor, and I could see one window was lit up. So I knew that there was illegals in there.
LAVANDERA: So when that happens, does it bother you?
ESCOBAR: It'd be like anybody walking into your house and stealing something from you. I feel, yes, to some degree invaded.
LAVANDERA: The way Donald Trump talks about it.
ESCOBAR: Yes.
LAVANDERA: You know, you've got rapists and killers and people straight out of an insane asylum, passing through your property. But the way you describe it, I don't really feel like you get that sense.
[22:15:09]
ESCOBAR: No, because those people don't stop here. Never has anyone of them, the migrants, knocked on my door to tell me, hey, can I have a glass of water, or can you please give me 20 bucks? No one has ever bothered me. LAVANDERA: So as we're here talking, you can hear the roar.
ESCOBAR: They're very common.
LAVANDERA: Here in a couple of seconds I think we're about to see, my guess it's either a DPS airboat or it's a Border Patrol airboat.
That's a common sight every day.
ESCOBAR: Oh, yes. Two, three times a day.
LAVANDERA: It's just part of the scenery down here.
ESCOBAR: Yes.
NAVARRO: So it's interesting, though, because I describe it as ground zero for the immigration issue, right here, we're at the border and you say that for some of these people, like Roberto, that's not the driving issue.
LAVANDERA: This is a farmer who lives on the border, migrants pass his house weekly. He's had run-ins with cartel members carrying AR-15 on his property and I think at the end of the day, what drives him the most is economics.
You think Democrats or Republicans are listening enough to Latino voters?
ESCOBAR: That's a good question, you know. I think the Democrats are doing a better job of getting to securing the Latino vote.
LAVANDERA: Interesting.
ESCOBAR: What are you doing with all my tax money? I'm not eating properly in my home because I'm giving all this money to you. What in the world are you doing with my bucks? It makes me angry that they squander so much of it. Both sides.
LAVANDERA: So was it local Democratic politics that turned you off or was it national?
ESCOBAR: More than anything, local Democratic politics, and I'm going to vote for Trump this time around.
NAVARRO: Is there such a thing as a Latino vote writ large?
LAVANDERA: No, not at all. Down here you're going to find Latinos who work in the oil field, are hunters. So they're more open to gun rights. So to paint everybody with a broad brush is impossible and probably like dereliction of duty if you're involved in politics.
NAVARRO: So later today, we're going to go meet with Pastor Luis Cabrera.
LUIS CABRERA, PASTOR, REVOLUTION CITY CHURCH: You are a child of the living God. NAVARRO: He's the pastor of an evangelical Christian church. How much
does religion and politics intersect here?
LAVANDERA: You just kind of watch the changing dynamics of the religious culture here along the border. And protestants have made big inroads into what has generally been kind of a Catholic area and I think that's a huge, huge deal.
NAVARRO: Luis, thank you for welcoming us to your church. Mucha Gracia. I didn't realize we have this in common. You were born in Nicaragua.
CABRERA: Correct. My father was involved with President Somoza in the '70s. and when they overthrew the government, we fled here to America.
NAVARRO: Tell me about the Remnant Alliance.
CABRERA: So the Remnant Alliance is a team of organizations around the country and they have come together to work with pastors and to help them get engaged against culture.
NAVARRO: So you want the church activated in politics, in culture --
CABRERA: In all aspects. Yes.
NAVARRO: In cultural issues. Books.
CABRERA: In all aspect. Exactly.
We're the generals of the faith. We're the generals and the governors and the leaders of our community.
NAVARRO: We have a similar story of coming here.
CABRERA: Yes.
NAVARRO: You are Republican your entire life. I am, too, but you are very pro-Trump. I'm not. So tell me, what am I missing?
CABRERA: I don't want to say I'm pro-Trump as a Christian. I vote for him because he's the only one that aligns with my biblical values and morals.
NAVARRO: Luis, the guy you support for president had children with three wives. And divorces.
CABRERA: But you're talking about his past.
NAVARRO: Does the fact that he's a convicted felon now matter at all to you? How do you align that with your biblical values?
CABRERA: He's not perfect. But that was his past. We all have a past.
NAVARRO: Do you have parishioners who disagree with you politically?
CABRERA: I probably do, but they don't tell me. (LAUGHTER)
CABRERA: When's the last time you heard his voice?
I'm not a Republican. I'm a man of God. I'm a Christian. I'm an ambassador of Christ.
NAVARRO: But you do work in politics in a certain way because you have no issue using your pulpit to get your parishioners to vote.
[22:20:05]
CABRERA: While we are waiting for elections, God is waiting for his elect.
NAVARRO: This country is founded on the separation of church and state. Do you think that's wrong?
CABRERA: No, no, no. As a church, as an entity, we have every right to tell any political figure, any business owner, if they're living wrong, that's our job. That's my job.
NAVARRO: So you're not calling from the pulpit for people to vote for Trump?
CABRERA: No, but I mean, I would say it. I have no shame about it. I mean, I would tell people yes, vote for Trump.
We need to get out the vote. And guess what happened? She won. Because of a church.
And what I did two years ago when I helped Mayra Flores win that special election.
NAVARRO: So Mayra Flores, a Republican congresswoman who won a seat that had been held for over 100 years.
CABRERA: Yes.
NAVARRO: By a Democrat. Then you were instrumental in helping her win the seat.
CABRERA: Yes, I was her pastor and I got the honor to baptize her.
NAVARRO: What are you looking for in this election?
CABRERA: I'm looking for the church to rise up like never before. I'm looking for, not a red wave, I'm looking for a holy wave. I'm looking for a righteous wave. Why is the church silent today? Why? I have free speech. And so, as a church, we have a voice, too. People come here, they want answers. I don't want Christians not to vote. And then when they do vote, they vote the wrong way. Guys, no. We've got to vote according to the will of God. We don't need to make America great again. We need to make America Godly again.
NAVARRO: We're a little bit over 60 days out. What are you guys hearing in South Florida, in Miami?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:26:50]
NAVARRO: I'm back in my hometown of Miami. At Giralda Plaza, a revitalized area of town where a lot of Latinos hang out, a lot of young Miamians come here. I'm here to meet with the Pelaez sisters. They are activists. They are vote machines. We met with them back in June, a few weeks ago.
We're a little bit over 60 days out. What are you guys hearing in South Florida, in Miami?
ANA SOFIA PELAEZ, CO-FOUNDER, MIAMI FREEDOM PROJECT: We went to -- had a family reunion, kept getting pushed into corners because people wanted to express their enthusiasm. People wanted to talk about it.
NAVARRO: Is that different than how it was?
CARMEN PELAEZ, ACTIVIST: Oh, my god.
A. PELAEZ: It's different.
C. PELAEZ: So different. So different.
A. PELAEZ: I think the centrist people wanting to be present, wanting to have an action, like every week and it's like, where can I canvas, who's knocking on doors.
NAVARRO: You all were hosting a debate watch party for the Trump-Biden debate. How did that go?
C. PELAEZ: It was heartbreaking. I think everybody was shocked.
NAVARRO: We were having a debate watch party with Luis Miranda and Latino activists in New York-New Jersey area. It was pretty devastating.
TRUMP: For three and a half years we're living in hell. We have the Palestinians, we have everybody else.
NAVARRO: So what you guys think? First impression.
JUAN CARLO "JC" POLANCO, CEO, COUNCIL ON LEGAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY: I think it was a train wreck. I really do.
MIRANDA: I think the next poll is going to have Trump ahead.
CHRISTY HAUBEGGER, FOUNDER, LATINA MAGAZINE: I think we lost voters. I think we like turned off people from the process.
NAVARRO: How quickly did you go from Team Biden to Team Kamala?
C. PELAEZ: The minute he announced he was going out, I thought the only person that could step in was Kamala Harris. NAVARRO: Do you think it's a mistake to write off the Cuban vote, to
write off Florida?
A. PELAEZ: I think with Cubans, absolutely. They haven't made up their minds yet.
NAVARRO: In my view, it's been decades of work and ground laying by the Republican Party, linking Democrats to communists and socialists. And I don't feel that Democrats have done anything to combat that narrative. And it stuck.
TRUMP: Comrade Kamala Harris, you're fired.
C. PELAEZ: We have a history of dictators. So when you have a guy come out and say, I'm going to take care of everything, Cubans are like, yes, I recognize that. That makes sense. He's going to take care of everything. And we've heard it before. And the movie is horrible. Can we change the script?
I think the same about Otaola. And I think he's incredibly dangerous to our community.
NAVARRO: He's become the most influential political voice amongst the Cuban-American community in South Florida.
C. PELAEZ: I would say the New York Cuban-American community, yes.
NAVARRO: He's running for mayor of Miami-Dade.
C. PELAEZ: I don't think he has a chance.
ALEX OTAOLA, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: I will offer the voters a hardline against those who would impose their socialist, communist agenda on our people.
C. PELAEZ: He's on YouTube. He has a fan base. It's like he grabs at the low-hanging fruit and everybody thinks he's a genius.
[22:30:06]
A. PELAEZ: There is a community that feels very connected to his message within Spanish language. Someone who is woefully misinforming for the purpose of entertainment. I mean, I get the joke. I just don't think it's funny.
NAVARRO: You're going to show us your studio. How long have you been doing the show?
OTAOLA: (Speaking in foreign language)
NAVARRO: So he's been doing it from that chair for eight years.
OTAOLA (through translator): My show is an anti-communist show, reporting on communist infiltration in the U.S.
NAVARRO (through translator): Do you think in Miami-Dade where we live, there are any communist elected leaders?
OTAOLA (through translator): I don't think there are communist elected leaders, but I do think there is a communist infiltration.
NAVARRO (through translator): Do you think there are communists at the federal level?
OTAOLA (through translator): I think there is a dangerous tendency to the left.
NAVARRO (through translator): Not every Democrat is a communist.
OTAOLA (through translator): No. Of course not. When as a politician you defend the welfare of communist, your sympathies lie with them.
NAVARRO (through translator): How do you feel about the people that say that you misinform?
OTAOLA (through translator): I think there is a way of attacking what they cannot silence, what they cannot overcome. I am politically incorrect, I don't say what everyone wants to hear or applaud. I don't need you to leave here loving me.
NAVARRO: Trump has been posting AI generated images of Kamala looking a little bit like Che Guevara, calling her Comrade Kamala. Is that sticking at all?
A. PELAEZ: It's not sticking. You're not seeing any traction, you're not seeing any momentum behind that argument because this has been such a step away from a very tired playbook. We're talking about the economy, climate, housing, gun reform, immigration. And I think the energy has shifted.
NAVARRO: In June, it was Joe Biden who has a Latino problem. Now I keep hearing about a Latino reset. Is that accurate? Is that what you're hearing? And is that playing out in Miami?
A. PELAEZ: On the issues, I think we're persuadable.
The idea that they're going to come in and say, you're Latino, from the identity perspective and get our vote, not going to happen.
C. PELAEZ: If I were to say what is the campaign doing wrong, I understand that there's a very narrow path to victory. You have to hit those swing states repeatedly. I get it. You have an army of people here that are doing the work for you. Come once and let them know, I'm with you. Democrats have to be aware of the fact that we're here and that we're gettable.
NAVARRO: What are the campaigns need to do on the ground to get this vote out?
FELIX J. ALICEA JUNIOR, PRESIDENT, PUERTO RICAN BENEFICIAL SOCIETY: Expand. Yes. Expand.
EFRAIN SANTIAGO, PUERTO RICAN BENEFICIAL SOCIETY: Do a little more foot work.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:38:01]
NAVARRO: We are in Cumming, Georgia, an hour north of Atlanta. You'll remember in 2020, Joe Biden won Georgia by the infamous 11,000 votes. This year could be even closer. And 10 percent of the population in Georgia is Latino.
We are here to speak with a multi-generational Mexican American family, and at two months away from the election, these conversations can be fraught with tension. So let's go talk to them and see what they have to say.
Ola, familia.
Can you tell me a little bit about yourselves?
PASCUAL RAMIREZ, EMMANUEL'S GRANDFATHER (through translator): In '78 I entered illegally through the desert, through the hills.
NAVARRO: And how did you come to this country?
FABIOLA RAMIREZ, EMMANUEL'S MOTHER (through translator): Like everyone else, we came through the hills. It was one day. But it felt like an eternity. We were about to lose our lives.
NAVARRO: And how did you become an American citizen?
RAMIREZ (through translator): I fixed my situation during the amnesty in '88. I'm an American citizen. It's the first time I'll vote.
NAVARRO: Have you decided who you're going to vote for?
RAMIREZ (through translator): I would vote for Kamala.
NAVARRO: Emmanuel?
EMMANUEL RAMIREZ, COLLEGE STUDENT: Kamala as well.
NAVARRO: Why?
E. RAMIREZ: More so just out of security. I don't agree with all the policies, but just seeing unjust it is towards the migrant workers. Hearing the experiences from my parents, seeing how we're retreated simply for being Hispanos, Latinos. It's made me become an adult before I could even recognize what an adult even is.
NAVARRO: Did you face discrimination? Were you bullied at school?
E. RAMIREZ: I remember when Trump was running for presidency in 2016, and it was probably the worst experience that I've had in the school system. Being called slurs. Of being separated from other students.
[22:40:03] NAVARRO: Do you connect Trump running for office in 2016 and becoming president to being called slurs at school?
E. RAMIREZ: The bigotry that was pushed during his candidacy in 2016 before he became president definitely fueled it. I think it was going to happen with or without Trump. He just amplified that voice for those who didn't feel like they could have voiced that hatred at first.
NAVARRO: When people were throwing slurs your way and you were being separated, you didn't tell your parents.
E. RAMIREZ: No.
NAVARRO: Why?
E. RAMIREZ: Because I had seen it happen so many times to my peers that at that point we're just quick to lose hope. I was called a dirty -- I'm not sure if I could even say it here because it just hurts.
NAVARRO: Say it.
E. RAMIREZ: Being called a dirty wetback. How was I supposed to react when it's an adult telling you this, they have so much hatred and bigotry? So it really hurt. I was just in tears.
NAVARRO: I'm sorry.
JORGE RAMIREZ, EMMANUEL'S FATHER (through translator): I didn't really know about that.
F. RAMIREZ (through translator): I didn't know about this either. If I had known, I would not stay silent. I'm sure of that. I'm a mama bear when it comes to my children.
NAVARRO: Like how has it shaped you?
E. RAMIREZ: It really opened up my eyes towards different perspectives and over the years afterwards I've begun getting more involved in understanding the political climate and understanding what that means for me.
NAVARRO: You chose to go to Dalton, which is predominantly a Latino school?
E. RAMIREZ: So it is a Hispanic serving institution.
NAVARRO: And you lead an organization?
E. RAMIREZ: Yes. The Latin American Student Organization?
Now what is our first mission? To empower and develop Latino man and woman --
It's a student based multicultural organization where we aim to just enrich our students as a whole through cultural enrichment, cultural education.
NAVARRO (through translator): How are you going to feel the day you see your son receive his diploma?
J. RAMIREZ: I will be proud, speechless because of all the efforts he's made.
NAVARRO (through translator): You're going to make me cry.
I'm proud of you, too. Would you ever run for office?
E. RAMIREZ: I want to. I see myself in the White House as president, you know, at that Oval Office.
NAVARRO: Emmanuel, I want to be alive and vote for you when you become the first Latino president.
E. RAMIREZ: But, no, that's my goal, though.
NAVARRO: It's early September. I'm in Bethlehem, a city about 60 miles north of Philly. Here in Pennsylvania, Kamala Harris is polling higher with Latinos, but the state at large is up for grabs. I'm about to meet with members of a Puerto Rican social club started by steelworkers. I want to talk to these folks about how they're feeling as we are inching closer to the elections. So let's go in and see what these Puerto Ricanos have undermined.
I want to hear about this social club.
HERIBERTO CRUZ-BURGOS, PUERTO RICAN BENEFICIAL SOCIETY: My father was one of the founders here. It's late 1950s, the club was built so those that didn't have a place to go would come in here with families.
NAVARRO: I don't think people realize the role of the Latino vote in Pennsylvania. It's the third largest Puerto Rican community in the United States after New York and Florida.
Let's talk politics.
LISA RICHE, PUERTO RICAN BENEFICIAL SOCIETY: We laugh because we normally have board meetings and we come here to discuss everything about the club. We end up having political fights instead.
SANTIAGO: We wind up having a political debate here.
NAVARRO: There's not that many places where people can be having healthy discussions. We need more of that in this country. But OK, now, cough it up. Who's voting for who?
CRUZ-BURGOS: I'm voting for the one that's right to me which is the first female president.
SANTIAGO: I'm Republican with a question mark. I honor my veterans. I'd die for my veterans. When I hear someone degrading us, calling us stupid, it hurts. He had done some good things. But when he opens his mouth, all that good goes to waste. We don't have to make America great again. America has always been great.
NAVARRO: Do you feel added pressure because you know that you are in a swing state that is key to winning this election?
RICHE: We have to all get out there and vote and make sure that when we push that blue button the Democrats win the election this year.
ALICEA: As long as my family is wealth, is happy and enjoying life freely, if it takes me to stay blue, I'll stay blue.
[22:45:07]
NAVARRO: So is the first time you're going to vote Democrat?
ALICEA: This is my first time, Democrats, yes.
NAVARRO: A lot of people think Donald Trump appeals to Latino men because of the machismo.
SANTIAGO: We have a strong character, but that machismo stuff that's what the old school. The new generation, we're not like that.
NAVARRO: What are the campaigns need to do on the ground to get this vote out?
SANTIAGO: It will be nice if they would knock on the door. Do a little more footwork.
(MUSIC)
NAVARRO: And when did you start campaigning on horseback?
ARMANDO CARMONA, COUNCILMEMBER, CITY OF JURUPA VALLEY: Yes, almost three years ago.
NAVARRO: Caballo politics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[22:50:28]
CARMONA: I was born here in Southern California. I grew up in the streets. We're a very organized community. We call it the Comunidad Caballo. People that are part of the equestrian community.
Growing up, local council member didn't exist. That wasn't a thing for us. But we didn't have a lot of representation.
I tried to ride regularly. I think the beauty of this community is that many people moved here from other places so they can have this lifestyle.
NAVARRO: Put my foot in here. I did this.
Armando, tell me about where we are. CARMONA: This Mira Loma, a neighborhood in the city of Jurupa Valley.
It's one of the youngest cities in California, been incorporated for about 13 years. The city is about 120,000 people. My district is around 25,000. In terms of Latinos we're over 70 percent.
NAVARRO: So how did you get into politics?
CARMONA: I've always worked around immigrant rights and other policy and reform movements here. In Mira Loma, in Jurupa Valley, I saw a need, and so I was elected to represent our ranchers. We're going to turn in here. Let's hold here.
NAVARRO: When did you start campaigning on horseback?
CARMONA: Almost three years ago.
NAVARRO: Caballo politics. Do you feel that you're on the radar screen of statewide candidates and national candidates?
CARMONA: The reality is Latinos here feel that we've been failed by both parties. We've had attacks on one end and failed promises on the other. I was part of the group of people that was completely disengaged from Biden. He has almost as many deportations as Trump did during his administration. In terms of policy, we didn't see enough. So I think that's where they're losing Latinos.
NAVARRO: What do you want to hear? What you want to hear from candidates?
CARMONA: Well, from Kamala Harris, I want to hear a vision. I want to hear a proposal for the Latino community. I'm a Democrat, but when we talk about Democrats historically, there's been really a fight to see whose tougher on immigration/
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fixing the border is tough. So was Kamala Harris.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARMONA: We need to hear how she's going to address the family immigration backlog. We need a humane approach to immigration. I'm not planning to vote for Donald Trump. I never have. However, what I hear is really a disengagement from the Democrats. The lack of true engagement with Latinos, with Latino men, with families.
NAVARRO: Explain this phenomenon with Latino men finding Donald Trump appealing. Some of the appeal is about machismo.
CARMONA: I think that's false. There's consistent effort to cast Latinos as racist, as anti-immigrant, and as misogynist. I think that's a false equivalency. Latino men are trying to lead, right. They're trying to protect and provide.
NAVARRO: This man who came to the U.S. illegally as a teen crossing the border, he told me this is going to be the first time he votes and he said he's voting for Trump because he thinks there needs to be control of the border and because he wanted a change.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The vice president almost works on the same path. And I think that if she remains in office, we're going to stay on the same path which they have set us on currently.
NAVARRO: If you could talk to Donald Trump, if you could talk to Kamala Harris, what would you say to them?
CARMONA: How are we going to ensure that Latino families build wealth over the next generation? How are we going to ensure that Latino owned businesses are thriving?
NAVARRO: Have you decided who you're voting for?
CARMONA: I haven't. I think this is a major opportunity to pivot into a new direction.
HECTOR FLORES, CO-FOUNDER, LAS CAFETERAS: All right, Ana. I want to drive you on the barrio.
NAVARRO: OK, Hector.
FLORES: You and your little Perito Cha-Cha. So right now we're in Bora Heights. Majority of Latino neighborhoods mainly Mexicanos, but you also got center Mexicanos, and just Latin Americans all over.
[22:55:08]
NAVARRO: How proud are you of your identity?
FLORES: It's who I am. I'm a proud Chicano kid. I was raised by the barrio here. (INAUDIBLE) I love in Bora Heights. When we started playing that this band is coming up, I love, always open its doors. We met young organizers, activists movement heads in the east side trying to change the world.
DENISE CARLOS, LEAD VOCALIST, LAS CAFETERAS: I'm from southeast L.A. So I'm a very proud Chicana. I have my bachelors in social work, my masters in clinical social work.
FLORES: And we also started playing music together. The music is actually a combination of music from all over Latin America.
NAVARRO: How do you guys turn the social work, the community activism into music?
CARLOS: We had the big vision for creating a world where many worlds exist. I grew up in the '90s so it felt dangerous to be who I was. I'm a daughter of immigrants who were undocumented for a really long time.
FLORES: Both our parents were undocumented.
NAVARRO: Every time I see a poll about Latino priorities, immigration is not one of them.
FLORES: For us immigration is a big deal.
NAVARRO: Have you ever felt otherize?
FLORES: Oh, hell yes. Growing up, I didn't want to speak Spanish. I remember when I was a kid, they told me if you speak Spanish, you can go with the dumb kids.
CARLOS: A lot of surviving in this country may not be noticed.
NAVARRO: What do you want to see the candidates discuss?
CARLOS: I'll be honest. I was really hopeless a few months ago. We really cared about immigration reform but we also really care about women being able to have the right to choose and having health care and mental health services.
NAVARRO: Are you feeling hopeful now?
CARLOS: I'm feeling hopeful. I'm excited to finally have somebody that looks like us, that may listen to us.
NAVARRO: We're in Kansas City tonight. Kansas is not a swing state, although there are some seats up for grabs. We are here because the head of Unidos USA, the largest Hispanic advocacy organization in the country, has invited us to join her family in watching tonight's debate.
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: His plan is to do what he has done before.
NAVARRO: As Latinos watching it, what did they say that struck you particularly poignantly?
JANET MURGUIA, PRESIDENT, UNIDOS US: I just thought Trump constantly focusing on immigration, fearmongering against immigrants and immigration.
TRUMP: We have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums. And they're coming in and they're taking --
J. MURGUIA: I think it's going to be a turnoff to a lot of Latino voters.
NAVARRO: Are there any issues that they are missing, talking about that would appeal more to Latinos?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Education.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Education.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
J. MURGUIA: They always miss it, too.
NAVARRO: You know, I think you are the first people I have visited with across the country who bring up education.
RAMON MURGUIA, FOUNDER, GREATER KANSAS CITY HISPANIC DEVELOPMENT FUND: Demographically Latinos are younger. We are graduating more Latinos in the colleges now more than ever.
NAVARRO: Is there anything that campaigns aren't doing that should be doing?
J. MURGUIA: Yes. When it comes to Latino voters, our most recent UNIDOS US poll showed that 55 percent of eligible Latino voters still had not been reached out to by candidates or campaigns. That's just wrong. And it's a huge missed opportunity.
NAVARRO: Is there still something called the Latino vote?
R. MURGUIA: I believe there is still a Latino culture within America that when you talk about family, it's about an extended family, not a nuclear family. So while a lot of us have been more Americanized there are still very important ties. I think that is how I define Latino vote.
NAVARRO: This is called a cafe Cubano. A Cuban coffee. I don't drink coffee anywhere outside of Miami. I think one of the biggest mistakes people can make is say we are one homogeneous bloc that does group think. We are who we are plus our experiences and our circumstance. What has come across loud and clear through this documentary is that nobody should paint the Latino vote in America with one wide brush.
[23:00:03]
CARLOS: I'm a citizen of the U.S. But at the same time like I'm taking the traumas of my families and the generations behind me. It's my duty to be loud about what I think we deserve.
