Biden cancels key speech at critical Hispanic American conference after COVID-19 results

As President Biden continues to endure calls for him to step down and pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, the commander in chief was forced to cancel a key speech in Las Vegas where a substantial Hispanic constituency was waiting for his arrival.

The speech, according to reports was canceled just minutes before it was scheduled to begin, a blow to the Democratic candidate who usually receives favorable support from Latino organizations.

The conference, hosted by Latino organization UnidosUS in Las Vegas, was already running late when the organization’s president, Janet Murguía, came to the stage in tears to announce that Biden personally phoned her to cancel.

“The president has been at many events, as we all know, and he just tested positive for COVID,” she said to the audience. “He obviously didn’t want to put anyone at risk and said to tell my folks that we’re not going to get rid of him that quickly.” 

Phoenix City Councilman Carlos Galindo-Elvira, who was looking forward to Biden’s speech with a choice front-row seat, said the virus was not enough of a reason that the president should withdraw his candidacy, as many Democrats and liberal media pundits have been calling for, according to a July 17 report published by NBC Latino.

“The president showed leadership and stayed true to the work he’s done on fighting COVID. I’m glad he called Janet Murguía and let her know personally, and I’m glad that he followed the precautions that he always touted at the height of the pandemic.”

While the councilman was disappointed the president could not speak he added, “that doesn't mean I'm not going to have a front-row seat when history is made and he's re-elected.”

Biden’s scheduled speech before UnidosUS—one of the largest Hispanic activist organizations in the nation’s history, was an opportunity to continue regaining much needed ground that polls show he has lost in recent days since his June debate with former President Donald Trump.

Before the speech, the White House even announced that the president was planning to sign an executive order launching a new initiative to strengthen institutions established to help Latinos. There are about 600 Hispanic Serving Institutes (HSIs) —colleges and universities and where at least 25% of their full-time undergraduate students are Latino.

At that June event, the president seemed to become dazed and confused and had difficulty answering certain questions, giving his Republican opponent and pundits an opportunity to suggest he was unfit for command and it was time for him to withdraw from the presidential race.

Surprisingly, a slew of liberal commentators and Democratic operatives such as David Axelrod also came out and said Biden should step down and let another, younger candidate take the reins to challenge former President Trump.

Biden’s Las Vegas speech, which was scheduled by The White House, and was not connected to the campaign, came shortly after Rep. Adam Schiff from California—a longtime supporter of the president—elicited his own concerns about the president and suggested he could not win the election because of his age and health.

While Biden made a short comeback in the wake of Thomas Matthew Crooks’ failed assassination attempt against Trump when he addressed the nation from The White House, the Las Vegas speech was a chance to connect with a Latino community in a state that are both viewed as critical for the president to win reelection.

“In this year's tight presidential race, Biden’s performance with Latino voters is critical. Although he won 65% of the Latino vote in 2020, polls are suggesting that some of that support may be slipping,” NBC Latino wrote.

Democrats, realizing the reported losses among the African American community have also recognized

“the urgency of holding on to their Latino advantage, started spending early and substantially to reach Latino voters,” the Hispanic component of the national news network reported.

The network additionally suggested that “worries over the spike in the prices of food, housing and other necessities following the pandemic and wariness about Biden’s competence and age” called the “2-1 Latino preference for him in 2020 into question.”

Biden was not the only U.S. official scheduled to speak at the Hispanic American conference.

Earlier in the day, Justice Department official Kristen Clarke from the agency’s civil rights division addressed her audience as “fellow foot soldiers in the fight against racism and discrimination” and talked about the administration’s achievements in fighting for equality.

Clarke said that under the leadership of the president, his Justice Department secured 90 consecutive life sentences for the shooter who killed 23 mostly Hispanic Americans and wounded 22 others in the 2019 shooting massacre at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

In that shocking case, the killer told police he was targeting Latinos and claimed he was trying to stave off an “invasion” of illegal immigrants. 

Clarke added that a recent Justice Department investigation found that the Phoenix Police Department and city discriminated against Hispanics. 

According to NBC, Phoenix City Councilman Carlos Galindo-Elvira said despite polls that Trump is leading in the southwest, he is still finding support for Biden.

The councilman hit the ground running and spent 49 hours in The Grand Canyon State, visiting 1,153 homes to collect signatures to run for the seat that he currently holds as an appointee.

He says he spoke to about 290 households, most of which were Hispanic American.

“They shared with me they still believe in the president” and that “they want somebody that is going to be their champion,” he told the news agency.

“Some people believe that the attempt to push him out isn’t coming from the people. It’s coming from other forces, but they still believe in the work he’s done,” Galindo-Elvira said.

Meanwhile, Luis Sandoval, Executive Director of the Building Skills Partnership in California, which helps build coalitions among low wage workers, expressed a contrarian view.

Sandoval reportedly said many Hispanic workers are concerned about their continued lack of job security in low-wage industries and are tired of rhetoric and instead want solutions. He cited those in maintenance and real estate as being most concerned with their job security and future.