In the middle of an introduction at an Arizona campaign event, President Joe Biden wandered away because he spotted a baby in the crowd.
The 81-year-old shuffled off to get a close-up of the baby while campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez was in the process of introducing him to the Phoenix crowd gathered at a Mexican restaurant.
Biden distracted those gathered during the rest of the remarks from Chavez Rodriguez, the granddaughter of Latino labor leader Cesar Chavez.
Biden appeared to ask the mother holding the baby, “how old” as he continued to talk with her and make faces at the child through the rest of the introduction.
“Well, folks, I have to tell you straight up,” he told supporters after returning to the podium.“I like you all, but I couldn’t resist that little baby.”
The event came as the Democrat’s campaign reaches out to the key bloc of Hispanic voters. The new campaign initiative is being called Latinos con Biden-Harris, and aims to “engage and mobilize Latino voters, communities, and leaders across the country,” according to the election campaign.
“You’re the reason why in large part I beat Donald Trump [in 2020],” Biden told the crowd. “I need you badly.”
His comment was met with cheers and Biden expressed an optimistic outlook for the coming rematch with former President Donald Trump in November.
“I’m optimistic,” Biden said. “There’s nothing beyond our capacity.”
Biden addressed the crowd of about 75 people for about 10 minutes according to AZCentral which noted that the location, El Portal, is “a Mexican restaurant operated by longtime Democrats and community leaders Mary Rose and Earl Wilcox.”
Chavez Rodriguez had urged the Latino voters to throw their support behind the Biden-Harris campaign.
“Latinos proved in 2020 what we are capable of in Arizona and in so many critical states throughout this country, and we sent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House the first time, and we’re gonna do it again in 2024,” she said.
According to a January USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll, Trump leads Biden among Hispanic voters 39% to 34%.
