Mary Sanchez: Biden campaign – Ask a Latina what we think of Trump

09/05/2024

President Joe Biden waves as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Washington, D.C., for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.

The Biden presidential campaign is shelling out more than $1 million in bilingual political ads in May alone to rap the knuckles of Latino machismo.

Too bad the ad campaign sidesteps who wears the pants – so to speak – in Latino culture.

A Latina might have more sway. An abuela, a grandmother with a sweet disposition and a sharp sense of wit and timing, would have been a better choice to adjust a few male attitudes.

Or maybe a mother figure, someone with the memory of what her son was like swaddled and still pooping in diapers. She could speak with influence to her now adult son.

In all seriousness, men do hold the power to influence (whether they realize it or not) the behavior of other men. And that’s what the Biden campaign is hopeful to tap in an attempt to lure more Latino votes in the presidential election.

Mary Sanchez

There are 4 million more Latino votes to be had than the last presidential election, with 36.2 million eligible Latino voters.

But it’s Latinas who govern much of family life. They are the matriarchs who are rarely as subservient as people outside of the family unit, and those who offer quick takes on the culture, might assume.

Biden’s ad campaign is called “Tough” or “fuerte” in Spanish.

Its focus is former President Donald Trump’s sexist views of women, which unfortunately for the women around him, have been abundantly displayed through the years.

Need a refresher?

Well, you could tune in to the current New York criminal trial where Trump was chastised by the judge for cursing and grumbling as adult-film actress Stormy Daniels testified.

Trump is accused of paying off Daniels to stay quiet about their alleged sexual affair in an attempt to protect his 2016 bid for the White House.

Her testimony puts the “alleged” part to rest, at least from her vantage point.

And then there’s the Access Hollywood tape where Trump used a crude name for female genitals, claiming that when you are famous, women gladly let men like him do whatever they want to them.

There’s any number of other examples – no need to draw up the laundry list now.

In the ad, Biden’s message that real men aren’t like Trump is delivered by a U.S. Marine, a man who did multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Facing the camera, Cesar Carreon says, “I’m a marine. I know what tough is. And a guy like Donald Trump that attacks women, and brags about it, that’s not tough.”

Carreon adds: “I’m with Joe Biden. Because he’ll give my daughters their freedom back.”

Yes, the bilingual ads are intended to signal Biden’s promise to restore federal protections for abortion.

But the advertisement doesn’t mention abortion. Nor does it refer to reproductive rights, access, maternal healthcare, or any of the words that might clue a viewer to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The administration apparently intended the script to be more subtle.

It’s possible it tried to steer clear of many Latinos’ faith in Catholicism, which does not condone abortion; to the contrary, it considers it a moral evil.

The hope is that Latinos who might be attracted to the pseudo tough-guy veneer of Trump will see the light and want to step away from supporting him.

And in doing so, the ad suggests, they will show that they love their daughters and want what’s best for them. Such a message is a stretch at best.

They should have featured a Latina.

Because it’s more likely that a woman could tell a man, Latino or not, a few things about how everything that Trump brags about, disgusts women.

First, realize that machismo is not necessarily a negative trait. In its healthier forms, it doesn’t seek to degrade women. Rather, it’s merely a code of conduct that depicts the man as protector, but not because a woman is viewed as weak. He’d offer her his best out of respect and love.

When it’s twisted or becomes an overblown sense of self, that’s where the aggressive, hyper-sexualized version of masculinity takes over. This version involves a misogynistic dominance in a way that degrades even other men who are seen as not up to par. Machismo’s counter – its symbiotic twin for females – is Marianismo.

It’s lesser known but studied, and does help accentuate how important women are in Latino culture, especially within family life.

Again, this characteristic pulls from strict gender codes intended for heterosexual Latinas. And it too, can become unhealthy, when taken to extremes.

It’s a long way to November and there’s likely much more planned in the Biden campaign to influence Latino voters.

It shouldn’t take advertisements.

Anyone willing to open their eyes and look somewhat objectively should be able to see that Trump is no role model at all, certainly no hero.

But ask a Latina if an extra voice is called for to convince voters. She’ll deliver a resounding message about the inappropriateness of Trump. And she’ll do it with grit and grace.

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(Readers can reach Mary Sanchez at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @msanchezcolumn.)

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