Trump in ABQ (Moore, Journal)

Former President Donald Trump made a concerted bid for the state's Hispanic vote Thursday afternoon as he roused a crowd of several thousand supporters at an ABQ rally, declaring, "I love Hispanics! The crowd, gathered on a tarmac at CSI Aviation near the Sunport, roared their approval. 

Trump declared: 

I’m here for one very simple reason. I like you very much, and it’s good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community. New Mexico, look, don’t make me waste a whole damn half a day here,” he continued. “You know, we could be nice to each other, or we can talk turkey. Let’s talk turkey. I love the Hispanics. I love them. I love Hispanics. 

He also said that Hispanics are “entrepreneurial as hell and work their asses off.”

Trump, coming off of an embarrassing Sunday rally in New York where Puerto Ricans and Hispanics were disparaged by guest speakers, had rally goers take a poll on whether Hispanics preferred being called Latino. Hispanics won big with a round of applause and cheering.

The former president's speech, as usual for these events, went for nearly 90 minutes. He repeatedly cited problems at the border as a chief reason for New Mexicans to vote for him even as he overstated the problems the state is having by claiming that our border issues are worse than any other state. 

Trump is far behind VP Harris in the New Mexico polling and we are no longer a swing state but a person associated with the campaign said:  

With the former president folding the stops into respective trips to the swing states of Nevada and Arizona on Friday, and to North Carolina on Saturday, it “doesn’t cost a lot” to land the plane in New Mexico and Virginia, said a person familiar with the campaign’s strategy, granted anonymity to speak openly about the visitDoing so will offer an “adrenaline blast” to Trump supporters in those states, while creating at least a day’s worth of news there right before ballots are cast Tuesday.

GOP consultant Bob Cornelius said the visit "could help Trump turn out votes in southern areas of the state." 

Towards the end of his talk Trump gave a shout-out to GOP US Senate hopeful Nella Domenici, congressional candidate Yvette Herrell, former Governor Susana Martinez as well as NMGOP Chairman Steve Pearce.  

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.