Ep. 30 Understanding the Hispanic Vote w/ Stephania Taladrid

Everybody Assumes

Although it has only been a few weeks, one of the major surprises from this year’s presidential election is the rise of support for President Trump in the Hispanic community. Conversely, Latino organizations such as LUCHA, a grassroots political advocacy and social services provider for Hispanics in Arizona, have newfound strength having helped President-Elect Biden win Arizona and other battleground states. How did Trump’s efforts successfully engage Hispanics to win Florida, but not Arizona or Nevada? What was the pulse of the Cuban community in Miami in the lead-up to the election? How and why did the Biden campaign prove so inept at engaging and keeping Latinos, while the Trump and Sanders campaigns were seemingly so successful? With Stephania Taladrid, of the 'The New Yorker’s,' we dive into these consequential questions and more, touching on everything from Taladrid’s unique background to some of the lesser-known aspects of the Cuban-American community’s political identity. Stephania Taladrid is a contributing writer at 'The New Yorker,' covering the Spanish-speaking world. For over a year, Taladrid has been covering the Latino community’s role in the 2020 presidential election. Before joining the 'New Yorker' magazine, Taladrid was a speechwriter at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship. She is a native speaker of three languages (English, Spanish, French), and is also fluent in another two (Italian & German), and grew up in Mexico, Spain, France, and the U.S. I hope you enjoy this episode, and learn something new! ________________________________________ Articles mentioned: “Biden’s case to Latino Voters Comes Late. Will They Listen?” 9/16/2020 https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/bidens-case-to-latino-voters-comes-late-will-they-listen “Can Latino voter Tip Wisconsin in Joe Biden’s Favor?” 10/13/2020 https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/can-latino-voters-tip-wisconsin-in-joe-bidens-favor “How Pro-Trump Disinformation Is Swaying a New Generation of Cuban-American Voters” 10/26/2020 https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/how-pro-trump-disinformation-is-swaying-a-new-generation-of-cuban-american-voters “As Trump Gained Latino Support in Florida, Biden’s Campaign Ignored Warnings” 11/10/2020 https://www.newyorker.com/news/campaign-chronicles/as-trump-gained-latino-support-in-florida-bidens-campaign-ignored-warnings ________________________________________ *For avid listeners, you may notice that the final three questions I usually ask about are my guests' favorite podcasts, people they follow on social media, and books that have shaped their thinking, are missing. This was my fault, as I forgot to ask. My apologies. No doubt, next episode I will ask.