Biden and Trump surrogate take part in AAPI town hall

Guam Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo,  left, who represented Donald Trump, and Joe Biden took part in a town hall
 directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and former Guam Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo, a surrogate for Donald Trump, met with AAPI leaders in a virtual town hall Saturday. The stark difference between the two campaigns was never more clear.

While Biden Zoomed in for the event watched by AAPI leaders, Trump was golfing in Virginia.Both presidential campaigns covered topics the Asian American Pacific Islander community during the fourth APIAVote Town Hall event 

Spurred by moderators by Vicky Nguyen from NBC News and Amna Nawaz of PBS, Biden and Calvo covered topics as wide-ranging as the economy, immigration and race relations.

'Kung Flu'

On the topic of Asian Americans being targeted by racists and blamed for the coronavirus, Biden jumped in first.

“We’ve all heard about the horrible acts against Asian Americans blamed for the coronavirus," Biden said. "Harassment. Violence. Conspiracy Theories. Blaming Asian Americans for COVID. Dangerous smears, including by Donald Trump."

“Asian Americans are being targeted with violence in subject to xenophobic rhetoric from the mouth of the president himself,” said the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. “This is the president who, instead of bringing our country together, does everything he can to fan the flames of hate and division in this country.”

Just like Trump, with no proper explanation, Calvo instead tried to shift the blame on President Barack Obama. “Take a look at history," he said. "That Kung Flu comment even came from the Obama administration. I’m here as an Asian American and Pacific Islander to represent the Trump campaign.”

(Although a couple of VA hospitals used the term Kung Flu but no one in the Obama administration, including the President, used the term to describe the N1H1 flu.)

Calvo defended Trump's attempts to limit immigration saying his policies are meant to help the American worker.

“It's not about the immigrants, they're important,” Calvo said. “But his first and foremost priority is getting Americans back to work.”

On Day One, Biden said he would send Congress an immigration reform bill that would include a roadmap for citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants who contribute so much to this country, including 1.7 million AAPI.”

He also expressed his opposition to Trump's recently implemented pause on foreign workers. 

During the town hall, both men were asked about the diversity of their campaign staffs. Neither Biden or Calvo could answer that questioned but promised to give the numbers later in the day.

Hours after the town hall, Biden's staff released the information about the diversity of its campaign staff.

People of color accounting for 35% of his full-time staff. The figures given by staff included consulted consultant. It showed a staff -- including part-timers -- that’s 53% female and a senior staff that is 36% nonwhite and 58% female.

Trump's reelection campaign also released figures that showed his senior staff is 25% people of color and 56% female, according to the campaign, with 52% of the full-time staff female. 



The 2-hour virtual Presidential town hall was the marquee event of the National AAPI Leadership Summit that started June 22 and continue through Thursday, July 2.

REGISTER for the remainder of the Summit, click here.

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.