An NBC news correspondent shared his findings from interviewing locals in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of whom switched from supporting Biden to Trump and now volunteers for him.
Milves Teresa, a paralegal from a growing Latino community in Pennsylvania told NBC that she turned against President Biden and now volunteers for the Trump campaign.
On MSNBC’s "Andrea Mitchell Reports" Wednesday, NBC news correspondent George Solis shared his findings from interviewing locals in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of America’s key battleground states either candidate needs to win the 2024 election. Reading is one of the towns collectively referred to as Pennsylvania’s "Latino belt," which is all at or above the statewide average Latino population, and just might determine the election overall.
Solis reported that while Biden won Reading by more than 46 votes in 2020, the town has moved to the right by 15 points since 2016. He also claimed that Vice President Harris, now the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, has reportedly polled better than Biden against Trump among Latino voters.
Teresa, who now volunteers for a local Trump campaign office, told the NBC correspondent that she had previously voted for Biden in 2020. She explained that she switched to supporting Trump in 2024 out of frustration with the rising cost of living and running a business in her town. Biden’s endorsement of Harris as the new frontrunner has reportedly pushed her even further away.
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"It’s just I don’t trust her," she told the NBC correspondent.
When Solis asked why, she replied, "Because her background — I don’t trust her."
While Harris’ political background is not quite as known as President Biden’s, some of her past statements about illegal immigration and her record as a prosecutor have been used against her by her critics.
In another clip from his interview with Teresa, she can be heard saying, "Think about what you want for your country, what you want for the kids."
Solis spoke to Mitchell about the energy he has encountered from Latino voters in the area, noting, "They are very energized" and recounted that many of them said what translates to, "This vote is so important to our election."
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The news correspondent said that while both campaigns are aware of the energy here, the Trump campaign has no timetable for when they will be there, though it is certainly "on their radar."
Meanwhile, he said, "The Harris campaign has about 24 campaign offices here throughout the commonwealth. Again, speaking volumes, and the voters here, they know that the key to the White House may just be right here in Pennsylvania in this heated race for the state and the presidency."
