In the early hours of Tuesday’s election night specials on the broadcast networks, multiple liberal journalists were beset by the fact that President Trump was doing far better than expected in Florida and South Florida, due in large part of what they called “disinformation” that successfully “scared” Latinos with fears of Democrats implementing “socialism.”
CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell tossed to CBS News contributor and former Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas as “the voice of Hispanic America,” but based on her hot takes shilling for Biden, she didn’t live up to the moniker.
With some trepidation, Salinas said Trump cleaning up in Florida seemed to have been because his “law and order and anti-socialism messages appear to be resonating with Cuban voters and also from voters from countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, among others” whereas Puerto Ricans trended toward Biden.
Political correspondent Ed O’Keefe asked Salinas to elaborate:
We heard the president for almost four years talk about how Joe Biden and Democrats would enact socialist policies in this country. To a lot of Americans, that kind of goes over their head, but remind us why that resonates so much in South Florida and why it could be affecting Biden's chances tonight.
Salinas replied that the labels of socialism towards Democrats has always “resonated” with it having come across “much stronger” in 2020.
From there, the mask slipped as Salinas griped that “[t]here was a lot of disinformation in radio stations in Miami and in Spanish-language media there and they really scared people into socialism and especially now Venezuelans.”
“Another reason, besides the anti-socialism message, is — is the violence. A lot of people fear the violence. So law and order is also a huge issue for them,” she added.
Over on ABC, weekend World News Tonight anchor Tom Llamas chalked up Biden’s smaller-than-predicted margin in Miami-Dade County to Republicans having been “successful in trying to tie Democrats and Joe Biden even though he made it very clear publicly he's not a socialist, they were very successful, it appears in maybe possibly doing that.”
Earlier in the night, correspondent Victor Oquendo said from Florida that “the political ads have been nonstop and they have been relentless” with “President Trump labeling Joe Biden as a socialist,” including a tweet that Biden was, in Oquendo’s words, “a proven Castro puppet.”
Similarly, senior White House correspondent Cecilia Vega concurred: “President Trump has been pushing this narrative that Joe Biden will be a socialist, that Latinos, particularly Florida Latinos, Miami, Cuban-American Latinos do not want to see.”
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell was much more like Llamas and Salinas than Oquendo and Vega. At 7:43 p.m. Eastern, she decried Republican efforts to call Biden “a socialist” and the State Department’s views on Cuba and Venezuela (click “expand”):
MITCHELL: [J]ust to weigh in on Miami-Dade, the real problem early on is labeling Joe Biden as a socialist and the fact that the Biden campaign was very slow to respond to that. Also didn’t canvass — because of COVID, they were not canvassing The Trump campaign has been canvassing in Florida for three years. The Biden campaign only came in recently. That's why they sent Barack Obama in twice in just the last couple weeks, the last week and in fact, it may not be enough to overcome that advantage. And also the policies that Chuck was referring to — policies on Cuba and Venezuela coming out of the State Department. They have been just pouring it out to attract those Latin American people tied to — to their home countries and —
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: And the socialism label — you’re saying — kinda stuck to Joe Biden harder there with that —
MITCHELL: Exactly.
GUTHRIE: — community of voters?
MITCHELL: And he’s going to have to overcome that for the rest of Florida — by the rest of Florida. Seniors there as well.
Two hours later, Mitchell melted down over how Florida Latinos weren’t a solid Democratic constituency and that the “socialist” attack against Biden was “a false a false claim, but that really has — has borne fruit.”
Mitchell also excused Biden’s loss because Democrats were “slow to convas [sic] — canvas, and it was because of COVID, but that caution on COVID has cost Joe Biden a lot in Florida.”
NBC Capitol Hill correspondent Kasie Hunt picked up on the socialist theme, reporting that “this socialism-related message, it's something that President Trump has literally been pushing for almost the entirety of his administration.”
She insinuated that “cynics” and Democrats would argue that was a voter suppression tactic in having left-leaning voters “become demoralized about this because this message was potentially attached to the Democrat, Joe Biden.”
To their credit, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt and Telemundo’s Mario Diaz-Balart brought up the far-left labeling in the 8:00 p.m. Eastern hour without any condescension (click “expand”):
HOLT: Claire, let me start with you and this idea — I think Andrea brought up this notion that Biden had been painted with a socialist brush very early on, and it was hard to get rid of. Do you buy into that?
CLAIRE MCCASKILL: I think it may resonate more in some of the communities in Miami-Dade and in Florida, namely, those Cuban Americans.
(....)
DIAZ-BALART: [I]t's going to be the story, if, indeed, Donald Trump ends up winning the state of Florida. It could have a lot to do with specifically South Florida and the Latino vote in south Florida, specifically, Cuban-American voters, Venezuelan American voters, Nicaraguan American voters and some Colombian American voters that for the last three years, Donald Trump has been working very consistently, insistently, and also, there's been a very strong push for the last months that Democrats are socialists, and that attack went unanswered for a long time. Maybe that will have some impact on how Florida ends up. We'll wait and see.
The uneasiness with Republicans calling Democrats socialists was made possibly advertisers such as Ancestry (on CBS), Farmer’s Insurance (on NBC), and T-Mobile (on ABC). Follow the links to the MRC’s Conservatives Fight Back page.
To see the relevant transcripts from November 3, click “expand.”
CBS News 2020: Election Night -- America Decides
November 3, 2020
8:04 p.m. EasternNORAH O’DONNELL: We want to bring in CBS News contributor Maria Elena Salinas. She’s widely recognized as the voice of Hispanic America and we're lucky to have her analysis. Maria.
MARIA ELENA SALINAS: Thank you very much, Norah. You know, why is the President doing better with Latinos in Florida? Well, a lot is due to Cuban American voters who are coming out in support of President Trump. As Major just said, the President's law and order and anti-socialism messages appear to be resonating with Cuban voters and also from voters from countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, among others. Now, Biden is doing better with Puerto Ricans, that is the second largest Latino voting block in the state. CBS News exit polls show they're supporting Biden by nearly 40 percentage points. Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans, as we know, moved to Florida after Hurricane Maria, and many were unhappy with the federal government's response. What we have to watch in Florida is the I-4 corridor. That includes Tampa and Orlando. There’s a large number of Latinos there. But you know, we also need to watch the Latino vote all over the country tonight. This year, 32 million Latinos are eligible to vote. We'll be watching the Latino vote, the Latino youth vote, in particular. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true — a Latino turns voting age every 30 seconds in this country. That means about 800,000 to 1 million Latinos are added to the voter rolls each year while two million Baby Boomers die. So we'll keep a close eye to these battleground states that may be tipped by this demographic, by Latinos One is Florida, the other Texas, Arizona, and Nevada, where Latinos make up more than 20 percent of the electorate. Let's see if Joe Biden was successful getting them out to vote.
O’DONNELL: Maria, stand by. I think Ed has a question for you.
ED O’KEEFE: Maria Elena, great to be with you tonight. We heard the president for almost four years talk about how Joe Biden and Democrats would enact socialist policies in this country. To a lot of Americans, that kind of goes over their head, but remind us why that resonates so much in South Florida and why it could be affecting Biden's chances tonight.
SALINAS: Well, you know, that has been a message throughout with Cuban Americans. It has resonated with Cuban Americans. But this time, the message was much stronger. There was a lot of disinformation in radio stations in Miami and in Spanish-language media there. And they really scared people into socialism and especially now Venezuelans. Venezuelans are only two percent of the vote — of the Latino vote. However, they are coming out in larger numbers. So, it really is the turnout that is being affected. You also have Central Americans. You also have Colombians. So that's why it's resonating so much. Another reason, besides the anti-socialism message, is — is the violence. A lot of people fear the violence. So law and order is also a huge issue for them.
—
ABC’s Your Voice/Your Vote: Election Night 2020
November 3, 2020
7:26 p.m. EasternVICTOR OQUENDO: George, the Cuban vote, of course, is so huge here in Florida. And in Miami-Dade county, that, of course, is the biggest voting group there. I can tell you that the political ads have been nonstop and they have been relentless. Joe — President Trump labeling Joe Biden as a socialist. That has resonated with the Cubans in Miami-Dade county. Just the other day, President Trump tweeted that Joe Biden is a proven Castro puppet. I think that's 100 percent what's going on in Miami-Dade right now, George.
(....)
7:39 p.m. Eastern
CECILIA VEGA: And President Trump made more trips to Florida than any other state in leading up to the election. They're going to be key in Florida, of course, they always are, but this election could be the Latino election, the first time that we've seen. We've been talking about it for years but we're seeing Latinos vote at higher rates in early voting than we have ever. 32 million eligible Latinos up for voting this year in this presidential cycle. The largest ethnic minority in this country, expected to exceed African-Americans voting. Both campaigns have pushed hard to win this vote and President Trump has been pushing this narrative that Joe Biden will be a socialist, that Latinos, particularly Florida Latinos, Miami, Cuban-American Latinos do not want to see.
(....)
8:36 p.m. Eastern
TOM LLAMAS: And tonight, if we look at it right now, the spread less than 100,000 votes [in Miami-Dade County]. Republicans were successful in trying to tie Democrats and Joe Biden even though he made it very clear publicly he's not a socialist, they were very successful, it appears in maybe possibly doing that.
—
NBC News Special: Decision 2020 Election Night
November 3, 2020
7:43 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Andrea, you want to weigh in here?
ANDREA MITCHELL: Yeah just to weigh in on Miami-Dade, the real problem early on is labeling Joe Biden as a socialist and the fact that the Biden campaign was very slow to respond to that. Also didn’t canvass — because of COVID, they were not canvassing The Trump campaign has been canvassing in Florida for three years. The Biden campaign only came in recently. That's why they sent Barack Obama in twice in just the last couple weeks, the last week and in fact, it may not be enough to overcome that advantage. And also the policies that Chuck was referring to — policies on Cuba and Venezuela coming out of the State Department. They have been just pouring it out to attract those Latin American people tied to — to their home countries and —
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: And the socialism label — you’re saying — kinda stuck to Joe Biden harder there with that —
MITCHELL: Exactly.
GUTHRIE: — community of voters?
MITCHELL: And he’s going to have to overcome that for the rest of Florida — by the rest of Florida. Seniors there as well.
(....)
8:04 p.m. Eastern
GUTHRIE: One of the criticisms of the Biden campaign — and some of it was loud in Florida from Biden supporters — was he was not doing enough to get out the Latino vote in south Florida. We mentioned the Venezuelan Americans, the Cuban Americans. And it seems like that is coming to pass in Miami-Dade.
KASIE HUNT: Savannah, that's absolutely true. And there were Democrats who were trying to sound the alarm on this and remember, this socialism-related message, it's something that President Trump has literally been pushing for almost the entirety of his administration. I've sat through State of the Union addresses where he uses this term. I mean, this is something that he really focused on very much and I think that not only was the goal here to try and do what we're seeing play out, apparently, which was, you know, win over more of those voters, but you know, cynics would say, and some Democrats will say, that it was also, potentially, a strategy of trying to convince these voters not to show up to the polls at all, to become demoralized about this because this message was potentially attached to the Democrat, Joe Biden.
(....)
8:06 p.m. Eastern
HOLT: Claire, let me start with you and this idea — I think Andrea brought up this notion that Biden had been painted with a socialist brush very early on, and it was hard to get rid of. Do you buy into that?
CLAIRE MCCASKILL: I think it may resonate more in some of the communities in Miami-Dade and in Florida, namely, those Cuban Americans.
(....)
8:51 p.m. Eastern
GUTHRIE: And Jose, the Florida story really focuses on the Latino vote and a massive get out the vote and persuasion operation dedicated to South Florida, a place you know well.
JOSE DIAZ-BALART: I do, indeed. Good evening and it's going to be the story, if, indeed, Donald Trump ends up winning the state of Florida. It could have a lot to do with specifically South Florida and the Latino vote in south Florida, specifically, Cuban-American voters, Venezuelan American voters, Nicaraguan American voters and some Colombian American voters that for the last three years, Donald Trump has been working very consistently, insistently, and also, there's been a very strong push for the last months that Democrats are socialists, and that attack went unanswered for a long time. Maybe that will have some impact on how Florida ends up. We'll wait and see.
(....)
9:54 p.m. Eastern
HOLT: Donald Trump leading in Florida right now. A lot of focus there has been and is now on Latino voters and Andrea Mitchell has some insight on it.
MITCHELL: Well, it’s — the Latino vote had been shifting in 2012, 2016, going away from the Republicans, where those folks had long been, towards Democrats. It has shifted back by ten points. Donald Trump is getting in the exit polls 45 percent of Latino vote in Florida. We're talking now about Florida. We're talking about Cuban Americans, Venezuelan Americans and that really is the foreign policy of this administration — Pompeo, Secretary Pompeo has been hammering that home. The president has been really disciplined on his message on Joe Biden being a socialist — a false claim, but that really has — has borne fruit. They were, as we've been pointing out, in Miami-Dade in particular, slow to convas [sic] — canvas, and it was because of COVID. But that caution on COVID has cost Joe Biden a lot in Florida.
