Biden Campaign Compares Trump to Hugo Chavez, Nicolas Maduro in New Latino Ad After ‘Dictator’ Flap (Exclusive)

Donald Trump said he'll be a dictator on day one should he assume the presidency in 2025, and a week later the Biden campaign has likened him to infamous Venezuelan strongmen in new bilingual ads provided first to The Messenger.

During a Fox News town hall with Sean Hannity last week, Trump was asked twice to deny whether he would abuse presidential power and target his political enemies. The former president responded that he would only do so on the first day of his second term.

"Except for day one," Trump said, repeating Hannity's question about being a "dictator." "No, no, no — other than day one. We're closing the border. And we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator."

The Biden campaign's ad titled “Nos Ve” and “Sees Us," says Biden supports Latino families and businesses, while the community is invisible to Republicans before drawing further contrast with Trump.

"But Republicans they don't [see us] and like dictators want to take things away, our health insurance, our rights and freedoms, and even our safety," the narrator says as images of Trump and Venezuelan dictators Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro are displayed in the background.

“President Biden’s agenda is focused on the issues that matter most to Latinos and their families," Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez told The Messenger. "Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans have failed Latinos on everything from the cost of health care and jobs to fundamental rights and safety. Next year’s election will come down to a simple question - who has our backs, who sees us? It’s Joe Biden.”

The ads come in three versions: English, Spanish with a Mexican accent, and Spanish with a Puerto Rican accent, and will run on television programming that over-indexes among Hispanic audiences in Arizona, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, as well as targeted digital platforms in Georgia, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The spot will also run on local Latino-owned media properties and sports channels.

The spots arrive at a time when a series of national and state polls have shown Biden struggling in a head-to-head rematch against Trump, including among voters of color and in states like Nevada where a Republican presidential candidate hasn't won since George W. Bush two decades ago.

This is the Biden campaign's second Latino-focused ad to draw a contrast with Trump and Republicans since September, after the early ones all sought to boost Biden without naming Trump.

The bilingual ad is the sixth release aimed at Hispanics since August, and part of the $25 million ad campaign aimed at Latino and African-American media the campaign calls "the largest and earliest" such paid media effort for a reelection campaign in history.

"Latino voters right now are totally disengaged and they don't seem to be with either candidate at the moment so doing contrast and likening Trump to a dictator is going to sort of put this in their face and drive engagement and motivation hopefully," Democratic strategist Alicia Sisneros, who does work in the southwest states, told The Messenger.

Kristian Ramos, a Democratic consultant who works nationally with organizations engaging Latino voters, said Biden is responsible for record job growth and bringing back the economy from the "abyss" Trump left it in.

"It's really smart of the Biden campaign to remind voters not only of his record helping people get a better life, but to contrast it with Donald trump's toxic dictator actions and plans for 2025," he said.