Day 1 of RNC Programming Features Three Latino Speakers

Day 1 of the Republican National Convention featured three Latino speakers during the primetime programming slot.

In case you missed it, we are sharing the full videos for each speaker.

First up, Goya Foods CEO Bob Unanue, the same one who called Donald Trump a “blessed leader” in 2020 and is now part of the America First Policy Institute. During his 2024 RNC remarks, Unanue acknowledged that “he got into trouble” for those 2020 comments. He then proceeded to tell the Spanish immigrant family origin story of how Goya came to be, added a José Martí quote and made sure he called Vice President Kamala Harris “Qué Mala Harris.”

“Our border czar, Qué Mala Harris,” Unanue said, “that means so bad. And we have enough bad, we need some good, we need goodness. [She] was missing in action. Many Latinos came to America from countries where the few exploit and control the many. Today’s Democratic Party sees this as their path to maintain power.”

Later in the evening, Peruvian American Vanessa Faura, executive director of Moms For America, told her immigrant story and explained that her “family migrated legally to the United States” when Faura was nine years old. Then after becoming a U.S. citizen, she noted that “the Democratic Party didn’t represent my values. Republicans did.”

“Under the Biden-Harris agenda, we’re no longer living, we’re surviving,” Faura said. “It feels more and more like I’m back in Latin America.”

Finally, during the 10 pm ET slot and in the presence of Trump, Linda Fornos spoke about how she arrived from Nicaragua 60 years ago to live in Las Vegas, where she valued hard work and learned how to speak English. She said she voted for Joe Biden in 2020, but now she is supporting Trump.

“It’s upsetting to see millions of dollars being sent to help immigrants who came here illegally, while hard-working families who did it the right way are left struggling,” Fornos said.

“To my beloved Latino community, it’s time to wake up and smell the cafecito,” Fornos added.

This was only Day 1. We will see if more Latino voices appear on the RNC podium over the next couple of days.