Joe Biden Hits Zoom With Lin-Manuel Miranda and Other Latin Celebs to Talk 2020

“The path to victory in November is going to rely on Latino voters,” Biden said to the Hamilton creator.

Imagine joining a Zoom call with Joe Biden, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Zoe Saldaña and chef José Andrés. Feel overwhelmed yet? Last Tuesday, the creator and star of Hamilton hosted the video chat with the now-presidential candidate and Latino celebrities and politicians, touching on the presidential election and the importance of the Latino vote in it.

“The path to victory in November is going to rely on Latino voters,” Biden said to Lin-Manuel. “That’s not hyperbole.”

The Zoom conversation was presented by progressive news organization NowThis and Latino Victory, a progressive organization working to grow Latino political power, co-founded by Eva Longoria. Luis Miranda Jr, father of Lin-Manuel, is the Board Chair of Latino Victory, . 

“The wage gap is so profound,” Biden said to Miranda. “Who the hell is keeping us going during this entire pandemic? Latinos. You have hundreds and hundreds of Dreamers out there who are the ones who are taking care of people. You’ve got nurses putting on garbage bags over their heads working in an operating room because they don’t have the protective equipment.”

Biden also said that President Donald Trump and his administration put an “all-out assault on the Latino community.”

“He’s failed the Latino community time and again in order to satisfy the vicious right-wing of his party that he in fact just keeps feeding raw meat to,” the presidential hopeful. 

Later, Lin-Manuel asked actor America Ferrera about the importance of Latinas in the presidential election. The Ugly Betty star said that this particular group could make a massive difference if they vote. “We have so much potential to make an impact.”

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Jennifer Lopez, in turn, encouraged her 129 million social media followers to make their voices heard by taking part in this civic responsibility.  

“We literally have the power to determine who gets elected this November,” the singer told Lin-Manuel. “But to accomplish that, everyone that can vote needs to go and register to vote…I want to make sure that everyone that follows me on social media, who can vote, has the information to vote.”

On July 30, Lin-Manuel officially endorsed Biden for president during the American Federation of Teachers virtual conference, saying that he was doing so because “our democracy is at stake.”