Joe Biden, Trump representative to Zoom into AAPI Leadership Summit

ASAM NEWS

The campaigns of Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will address the Asian American community in a virtual town hall today, June 27,

Biden will be present at the historic event to answer questions and concerns, while former governor of Guam, Eddie Baza Calvo, will serve as a surrogate for Trump. 

Amna Nawaz, a journalist at PBS News Hour, and Vicky Nguyen, a journalist at NBC, will moderate discussions.

This is the fourth time Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote has hosted a Presidential town hall. Asian Journal reports that in 2016, former president Bill Clinton replaced former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial or ethnic voting demographic in the United States and are projected to “reach new highs” in 2020, Pew Research Center found. Despite this, a 2018 Asian American Voter Survey released by APIAVote and AAPI Data, found that 46% of respondents said they were not contacted by the Democratic Party and 56% said they were not contacted by the Republican Party.

The town hall, which starts at 3 p.m. EST, will highlight Asian issues during this 2020 presidential election cycle, a move that organizers see as an opportunity to address a growing demographic.

“This two-hour event will allow the candidates and campaigns to present their vision in how that addresses the concerns of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander folks,” APIAVote Executive Director Christine Chen said.

The virtual Presidential town hall is the marquee event of the National AAPI Leadership Summit that started June 22 through Thursday, July 2. The Summit convenes Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) elected officials, activists, and community leaders for conversations and workshops about the political and policy issues most important to the AANHPI community — the fastest-growing racial or ethnic population in the country — and how to mobilize the community during the 2020 elections. 

This year’s Summit includes workshops and sessions on civil rights, health care, and political organizing, among other topics. Notable speakers will include eight members of the United States Congress and nationally recognized advocates, academics and journalists.


"This is a historic moment because, as a collective group, this will be the largest opportunity for the presidential candidates to participate and address our communities' needs for the General Election. This will also allow our communities to unite our voices in political engagement this year and into the future," said the APIAVote website.

REGISTER for the remainder of the Summit, click here.

• For questions or further inquiries about our programming, please visit Presidential Town Hall at APIAVote or email townhall@apiavote.org.
• A full schedule of the Summit events can be found here.