Recent polls indicate that President Joe Biden is losing support among Black and Latino voters, presenting a potential opportunity for former President Donald Trump to attract long-time Democratic loyalists in the upcoming November election.

Trump and the Republicans have been boasting about this potential shift, with Trump even holding a rally in the Bronx, New York, last week to reach out to minority voters. However, the Biden campaign is countering this narrative, emphasizing its strategy to maintain strong support from Black and Latino voters.

Interviews with Biden campaign officials and allies reveal a comprehensive, long-term strategy aimed at ensuring robust turnout among Black and Latino voters. This includes early investments in ground operations and targeted ads, some in Spanish, to reach voters missed in 2020. The campaign is also engaging with local minority-owned news organizations and participating in community events like bingo halls, food drives, barbecues, and farmers markets.

Campaign officials argue that the perception of Trump attracting minority voters is exaggerated and lacks substantial investment on the ground or in media.

“Biden’s campaign knows the importance of showing up, investing in our communities, and earning every single vote,” stated Quentin Fulks, Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager. “We’re making massive, historic investments to reach the voters who will decide this election — and we are doing it along the President’s historic record of fighting for and delivering for our communities.”

Despite a decline in support among Black and Latino voters since 2020, Biden’s campaign is confident in the infrastructure built across battleground states. This includes unprecedented early investments in paid advertising through Black and Latino media and opening 150 offices in battleground states, particularly in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are strategically planning their travels to include stops at Latino and Black communities, engaging directly with voters at churches and small businesses. A Biden campaign official predicted that Trump’s lack of early investment would hurt him in the election.

Polls show large groups of Black and Latino voters concerned about the economy under Biden, with significant percentages believing their family income is lagging behind the cost of living. Trump’s campaign has capitalized on this sentiment, criticizing Biden’s economic policies.

However, Biden’s campaign believes it has a strong message for Black voters, highlighting low Black unemployment, increased Black wealth, and student loan debt forgiveness. The challenge is effectively communicating this message.

To address this, Biden and Harris are making targeted visits to critical states. In Pennsylvania, they held a rally aimed at Black voters. In Georgia and Wisconsin, Jill Biden launched “Women for Biden-Harris,” focusing on Black women-owned businesses. Harris has also made several stops in battleground states, promoting the administration’s support for Black-owned businesses and medical debt relief.

In Wisconsin, the campaign launched a pilot project in Milwaukee’s Black neighborhoods to reach voters missed in 2022. Using a technique called relational organizing, volunteers engage with their personal networks to share campaign messages, memes, and videos. Since November, this initiative has involved thousands of volunteers and made tens of thousands of voter contact attempts.

“Donald Trump does not care about our communities,” said Fulks. “He’s spent his entire adult life attacking us, and his entire political career making our communities worse off. And he’s now trying to dupe the press into thinking his PR stunts and photo-ops are ‘outreach.’ It’s an insult to the intellect of every voter of color.”

The Biden campaign contrasts its substantial investments with Trump’s rhetoric, citing instances such as Trump’s comments during Black History Month, where he claimed that his multiple indictments would attract Black voters because they identify with his perceived discrimination.

The Biden campaign aims to counter these narratives and strengthen support among Black and Latino voters through sustained, strategic efforts.