By GWEN MURANAKA
RAFU SENIOR EDITOR
Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) reflected the prevailing feeling among supporters of Kamala Harris following the presidential debate between the vice president and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night.
“The one word to describe our feeling right now is joy,” said Tokuda, who spoke via Zoom from a watch party with congressional colleagues.
“Kamala Harris said it best, she’s going to be a president for all Americans, and that spoke to me, to my dreams and for my family. It spoke to AANHPIs and the generations who came before us, why we came to this great country.”
Tokuda was among a diverse group of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community leaders and elected officials organized by the Harris/Walz campaign. Surrogates included representatives from the Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Filipino, Hmong, South Asian, Taiwanese and Vietnamese American communities.
The forum follows a campaign ad buy targeting the AANHPI communities in battleground states after the Democratic National Convention.
According to AAPI Data, there are more than 1.4 million AAANHPI voters in the swing states, which include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire and North Carolina. In a tight race, the Asian vote could prove crucial to the outcome.
Stephanie Chang, a state senator from Michigan, said that Harris’ economic message appeals to Michiganders and took issue with Trump’s false claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating dogs and cats.
“In Ohio, employers of Haitian immigrants describe their work ethic. They are an important part of our community deserving of dignity and respect,” Chang commented.
“She really stressed so clearly that we cannot let Trump continue to divide us by race, that she will be president for all Americans regardless of race.”
During the debate, Trump returned repeatedly to the issue of immigration, criticizing the Biden-Harris administration for allowing “terrorists,” “criminals” and “drug dealers” to come into the U.S. and that because of this crime was down in other countries such as Venezuela. Trump has called for the deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Harris cited her experience prosecuting human traffickers and criticized Trump for killing a bipartisan border reform bill.
John Tien, who was the first Asian American to be confirmed as deputy secretary of homeland security, said the former president’s message was that “immigrants have no place in America.”
“I’m Chinese American born in New Haven, Conn., parents escaped Communist China. What does Donald Trump say … that we’re all criminals, and that would include people like me and you,” Tien stated.
Tokuda said that outreach to the AANHPI communities was a difference in strategy between the Harris/Walz and Trump/Vance campaigns.
“We’re not some monolithic model minority group, we are such a diverse diaspora and fact that the Harris/Walz campaign has taken the time and sought out this kind of representation across the country truly shows that plan that Kamala Harris has what it takes to be president for all Americans, which includes every single one of us,” Tokuda said.
As a U.S. senator, Harris, whose mother immigrated from India, was a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Grace Choi, a Korean American, shared breaking news that Taylor Swift had endorsed Harris/Walz.
“Of the 2 million Korean Americans, many of us are Swifties too and we’re very excited. Many AANHPI Swifites are excited,” Choi said.