Former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro said Tuesday that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) should have initially scheduled more Latino speakers in this week's convention, warning Latino voters could potentially move away from the party after the November election.
“Some folks pointed out that last week, out of the 35 primetime speakers, the DNC only had three Latinos in it and no Native Americans, no Muslim Americans,” Castro, a former presidential hopeful, told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
The DNC highlighted prominent Republicans and former Trump administration officials who have thrown their support behind Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden
Joe BidenSunday shows preview: Coronavirus dominates as country struggles with delta variant Did President Biden institute a vaccine mandate for only half the nation's teachers? Democrats lean into vaccine mandates ahead of midterms MORE in the first two nights of the convention.
Last week, Castro senior adviser Sawyer Hackett noted on Twitter that “there are as many Republicans speaking at the convention as Latinos.”
But over the weekend, the DNC added participants to its schedule, including actress and activist Eva Longoria, Castro said.
“I think there’s room for improvement in terms of the showcasing of Latino talent at the DNC, but we should make no mistake that in Joe Biden and in Kamala Harris
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) August 18, 2020Kamala HarrisRepublicans caught in California's recall trap Harris facilitates coin toss at Howard University football game Far-right rally draws small crowd, large police presence at Capitol MORE we have two fantastic people who have a strong track record with the Latino community," @JulianCastro says. pic.twitter.com/cHg16t4Oqt
Castro added that the DNC’s initial schedule was “disappointing” because “Democrats built up this beautiful coalition over the last several years that has helped power in several victories, including massive wins in Congress and in states across this county in 2018 and we need that to defeat Donald Trump
Donald TrumpKinzinger says Trump 'winning' because so many Republicans 'have remained silent' Our remote warfare counterterrorism strategy is more risk than reward Far-right rally draws small crowd, large police presence at Capitol MORE in November.”
The former HUD secretary said Tuesday that he is confident that Latinos will support Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), in the November election, but Democrats should be worried about what comes after that.
“If we win in November, what we really want to do is cement a strong relationship between one of the fastest growing communities in the United States and Democrats because not every politician is as off the rails as Donald Trump,” Castro said Tuesday. “Not every Republican is as disliked by Latinos as Donald Trump.”
