The first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC) had plenty of intensity as Donald Trump made his first public appearance since his assassination attempt on Saturday, wearing a white bandage covering his bullet-grazed ear.
The event, which officially anointed Trump as the Republican presidential candidate and witnessed the picking of JD Vance as his running mate, featured a long list of speakers who tackled many of the issues dominating the party's agenda. Three Latinos were on that list, voicing sharp criticism of the Biden administration while emphasizing their call to support Donald Trump.
The first one to take the stage was Goya CEO Robert Unanue, a vocal Trump supporter best known for saying the country was "blessed" to have a leader like Trump back in in 2020. During his speech on Monday, Unanue highlighted the significance of religion, saying Trump would bring the nation closer to God while also sharing the story of his grandfather, who immigrated to New York at 17 and founded Goya, now one of the largest food companies in the country.
"Many Latinos came to America from countries where the few exploit and control the many," added Unanue. "Today's Democratic Party sees this as their path to maintain power."
Next up was Vanessa Faura, executive director of Moms For America, a national movement of mothers who claim to want to "reclaim our culture for truth, family, freedom and the Constitution."
Faura criticized the current economic situation, immigration policy, and the administration's stance on abortion. Described by organizers as "a mother impacted by inflation," Faura shared her story. Born in Peru, she immigrated legally to the U.S. with her family when she was nine years old. "Like millions of legal immigrants, my family did not begin our pursuit of the American dream by breaking the law," she said, highlighting the respect they had for the country and their journey to citizenship.
Faura's story received applause and cheers as she revealed that, despite her family's alignment with the Democratic Party, she felt the party no longer represented their values. "Under the Biden-Harris agenda, we're no longer living, we're surviving," Faura said. "It feels more and more like I'm back in Latin America."
The last Latino speaker to take the stage was Linda Fornos, an immigrant from Nicaragua whose speech revolved around one idea: that she voted for President Biden in 2020 but now regrets the decision.
"In 2020, I made a mistake, a mistake that is hard to admit, especially in this room," Fornos said. "In 2020, I voted for Joe Biden. I regret it. I regret that it made me repent. This November, my vote will not be taken for granted, and this time, I will not regret it."
Fornos criticized the Biden administration's immigration policies, particularly the financial assistance provided to undocumented immigrants:
"It is concerning to see millions of dollars sent to help immigrants who arrived here illegally while abandoning hardworking families who migrated the right way. The fact is that illegal immigration harms legal immigrants more."
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