Democrats blast Latino radio stations for organized campaign against VP Harris

As criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris continues to mount across Spanish-language talk-radio programs in South Florida, some Democrats are beginning to worry that she’s the target of an organized campaign to further damage her dwindling popularity, the Washington Times reported.

According to a tweet by Fernand Amandi, principal at Bendixen & Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic firm specializing in Latino outreach, “There currently appears to be a pro-active, clearly organized effort to demonize and malign the image + reputation of  @VP @KamalaHarris on Spanish-language radio in South Florida.”

“It comes in the form of audience listeners calling into live talk shows with talking-point attacks,” he added.

Similarly, Republican strategist Reed Galen, who co-founded the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, tweeted that the alleged anti-Harris campaign “isn’t an accident,” but rather “the preamble to what will be full-throated accusations of socialism and communism” against the vice president.

Democrats have been so concerned with the apparent shift in narrative that is being heard across Spanish-language radio stations that more than 20 Hispanic leaders from progressive groups in Florida signed a letter earlier this year calling on Spanish-language and Latino-focused media outlets in Miami to stop spreading misinformation “that emboldens conspiracy theories.”

But do these attacks from within the Latino community truly represent something nefarious? Not necessarily.

There are, after all, indications that Latinos – who have been steadily moving towards the right in recent years – are growing weary of the Democratic Party’s progressive platform, which is often reminiscent of the socialist policies that many Latinos attempted to leave behind when they immigrated to the United States.  

Latino voters in Miami-Dade County supported former President Trump over President Biden in 2020, handing Republicans an easy victory in the swing state.

Furthermore, Harris’ approval rating recently hit a shocking 28 percent – signaling that it’s not just Latinos who disapprove of her job performance.

Alfonso Aguilar, president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, said many Latinos are unhappy with Harris for many of the same reasons as non-minority voters and called suspicions of an organized call-in attack against the vice president “absolutely ridiculous.”

Aguilar also stated that Harris has flopped in her role as the “border czar,” having visited the border only once and failing to engage in active dialogue with Central American presidents about the root causes of immigration.

According to Aguilar, Latinos “took note” when Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said last week that he hasn’t spoken to the vice president since her June visit to Guatemala City.

“All of that obviously is news for every American, and certainly Hispanics are going to talk about it,” he said.

The White House, however, dismissed concerns that Harris has failed to create strong working relationships with leaders from the Northern Triangle, pointing to the $1.2 billion in private investments Harris recently pledged to Central American governments.  

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki continued to refute Giammattei’s claim of having no contact with the White House, saying administration officials have had “a range of conversations” with the Guatemalan leader. She failed, however, to directly respond if Harris had personally engaged Giammattei.

Ultimately, Aguilar believes liberals are “frustrated” that Republicans have made gains with Hispanic voters in recent elections.

“Democrats and liberals really believe that they had a hold on the Hispanic vote, and that’s not the case and we’re seeing it,” he noted. “I think they’re going to continue to come up with this type of argument.”