VP Kamala Harris reinforces link to AANHPI communities and their concerns

Congressmember Judy Chu, D-CA, and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the 
AANHPI Presidential Town Hall in Philadelphia.

With the presidential contest between Donald Trump and President Biden basically tied, the Democrats are making concerted efforts to shore up the support from those communities likely to vote for them.

Days after launching the AANHPI for Biden-Harris campaign coalition in Las Vegas, Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Philladelphia to deliver the keynote speech at the Presidential Town Hall hosted by APIAVote. 

“President Biden and I know this is a community that is a force and must always be recognized, and must always be recognized for the leadership that has provided for so much progress throughout the history of our country,” Harris said Saturday.

Harris, whose  late mother was from India and father from Jamaica making her the first Vice President of Asian and Black descent, emphasized the administration’s commitment to strengthening and protecting the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights among other accomplishments:

• Harris recited the policies instituted by the Biden-Harris admininstration on behlaf of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, which included:
• Disaggregation of federal data so that the concerns and needs of the diverse communities under the AANHPI umprella, representing over two dozen ethnicities and nationalities and a score of languages.
• Anti-Hate policies and by all federal agencies including the Department of Justice and Health and Human Services and the US Census and improved outreach to include material and assistance in more Asian and Pacific Islander languages.

“Our campaign knows the power of AANHPI voters and the pivotal role they will play in protecting this progress,” Biden-Harris 2024 AANHPI spokesperson Andrew Peng said in a statement to the Capital-Star, “and our historic investments to reach AANHPI voters across various languages and mediums, the launch of our AANHPIs for Biden-Harris organizing and engagement program in battleground states, and the Vice President’s participation at the APIAVote Presidential Town Hall in Philadelphia make clear that we won’t take any vote for granted this November.”

The 1200 audience members representing more than 50 AANHPI organizations cited a litany of fears as politicians ramp up anti-China rhetoric, pass laws blocking Chinese nationals from buying property and spread anti-immigrant verbiage.

“Certainly, it was not helped when the former president gave a permission structure for people to attack the AANHPI community,: said Ted Liiu, D-CA, blaming Trump for the rise in anti-Asian hate incidents. "We had a sitting president create the permission structure for this hate. Trump used phrases like 'Kung Flu,' blamed the pandemic on people like you and continues to mock Asian people."

The Trump campaiign was invited to the two-day leadership forum but failed to send a representative.

A recent survey showed that support for Biden among AANHPI voters had fallend from 54% t o46% but still showed a strong preference over Trump who garneed 32%. 

Although there was an 8% dromp by AANHPI voters, those voters did not mean they changed their vote for Trum. Part of the decline may be the result of Biden's poor performance during the June debate raising concerns about his age and health.

“The past few days have been a reminder that running for president of the United States is never easy, nor should it be,” said Harris. “But one thing we know about our President Joe Biden, he is a fighter. And he is the first to say, when you get knocked down, you get right back up.”

With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania, is the largest battleground state where more than 330,000 voters are of Asian descent.

“AANHPI’s are the fastest growing racial group in the US, and as a result, the fastest growing voting bloc,” said Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. “Not only have we claimed our seat at the table, but AANHPI’s have truly gone from being marginalized to being the margin of victory.”

“There’s been many groups that have been left behind," said Wisconsin resident Mina Yang, a Hmong American working to get out the vote in her community. "And I think that they’ve been vocal, but it’s just that no one’s really been listening,” she said. “And I think that it really does take the community to come together to do the work.”

“A lot of us Asian Americans, young people, we are wanting to get involved. And I think that we see how the anti-Asian hate has been affecting us,” she said.

“Fundamentally, this election will come down to this,” Harris continued “President Biden and I fight for the American people. Donald Trump does not.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.