It was a line-up of who’s who in South Florida Republican politics as well as Latino business leaders.
Dubbed a roundtable with Latino leaders, former President Donald Trump spent several hours at Trump National Doral in an intimate setting on Tuesday.
“I just saw a poll that we’re actually leading with Hispanics,” Trump said immediately after sitting down. “That’s never happened before.”
The event, which felt like a Trump rally complete with his campaign big hits, incorporated input from those who participated and made their arguments on why Trump should be elected.
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Trump used most of his time to either bash Vice President Kamala Harris or talk about policies he wants to implement.
The former president also touted polls, he claims, have him leading in swing states.
By all accounts, Trump is leading in Florida.
Earlier this month, an exclusive poll conducted by Telemundo of Latino voters in Florida had the former president leading by seven points, 48 to 41, with 11% of respondents who remain undecided or are choosing a third candidate.
Barry University Political Science Professor Sean Foreman said Tuesday’s event could also signal an effort by local Republicans to energize local Trump supporters to vote for other Republican candidates.
“They do have reason to be optimistic and that’s why we see Donald Trump making visits here in the last couple weeks of the election,” Foreman said.
But historically, Trump hasn’t done well in Miami-Dade County. In 2016, Hillary Clinton beat Trump by 30 points in Miami-Dade. In 2020, Democrats lost their victory margin and President Joe Biden won Miami-Dade by eight points.
“Over the past couple of decades, Democrats have enjoyed a good lead in Miami-Dade County, and it’s one of the areas where they have to run up the score,” Foreman said.
Across town in Coral Gables, Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was rallying Democrats and urged a group not to give up on getting voters to the polls.
“Miami-Dade County gives us hope,” Pelosi said, but added it takes “mobilization, we must own the ground, we must get out every single vote.”
Republican Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera believes this year could be different.
“I think President Trump loves to make history, and I think he’s going to make history again on Nov. 5,” Marino Cabrera said in reference to winning Miami-Dade.
President George H.W. Bush was the last Republican to win Miami-Dade in 1988.
