Trump campaign launches Asian Pacific Americans coalition

President Trump’s reelection campaign launched “Asian Pacific Americans for Trump” on Friday night as it seeks to boost its appeal to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters ahead of the general election.

The campaign’s newest coalition will try to mobilize AAPI voters by touting what they say are Trump’s accomplishments while in office, including what had been a strong economy before the coronavirus pandemic. 

“With the launch of this new coalition, we are broadening the President’s outreach to the Asian Pacific American community and are forming connections with new voters across the country,” said Lara Trump, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign. “While President Trump works to unite all Americans to Keep America Great, Joe Biden seeks to divide our diverse communities and undermine the values that make the United States the greatest country on earth.” 

The move is the latest effort by the campaign to reach out to voters of color. While Asian voters went for Hillary Clinton over Trump by a 65-27 margin in 2016, the president’s advisers hope that even marginal gains among AAPI voters and other demographics could help tilt the results in key swing states across the country. 

The campaign appears set to hinge its outreach toward AAPI voters around the president’s economic efforts while in office. 

“Throughout his time in office, President Trump has promoted the success of the Asian Pacific American community through tax cuts, regulatory reform, and protection from the coronavirus outbreak,” said Treasury Secretary Elaine Chao. “President Trump has uplifted Americans of all backgrounds through his vision to rebuild our country, and I encourage every American to work to re-elect the President in November.” 

The coalition comes as the White House still plays defense on early remarks by Trump calling the coronavirus the “Chinese virus” and the “Wuhan virus” in reference to where the pandemic began, remarks that critics say were racist.