Donald Trump’s campaign has rebranded its Hispanic outreach, with the former president set to launch “Latino Americans for Trump” at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The switch from “Latinos for Trump” to “Latino Americans for Trump” was made to emphasize that Latinos are American, according to Jaime Florez, the Hispanic communications director for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign.

“It’s very important that we all understand that no matter where we’re coming from, we’re already American,” Florez said, explaining the name change. “Whether you’re African American, Latino American, Asian American, European American, wherever you come from, we are all American.”

The term “Latino” is widely considered to be a term that refers to people of Latin American heritage who live in the U.S.

In explaining the rebranding, Florez said the new campaign name was a collective idea that emerged through meetings and conference calls.

“We as Latinos want to be treated as what we are. We are already American. This is our country,” Florez said. “We came here to stay, we came here to pursue our American dream, we have our families here, and we have our future in the United States. … Trump gave us the opportunity to feel more united with the idea of working together to make America great again.”

Florez said the campaign plans to hold rallies and launch digital, TV and radio ads in both English and Spanish. But he declined to share more specifics, including who will run the effort or how much money it will spend on outreach, saying that some details will be unveiled at Sunday’s rally.

A late start

Trump’s official Latino outreach campaign is off to a late start, less than five months before Election Day. The Republican Party has also closed some of its Latino and minority outreach offices.

The Biden campaign has touted its earlier outreach to Latino voters since last year. In March, the campaign launched its official “Latinos con Biden,” investing in ground operations in key battleground states and holding campaign events with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as placing ads in English, Spanish and Spanglish.

When asked why the Trump campaign’s Latino outreach is launching now, Florez said Trump’s trial had complicated the plans they had and put them on hold.

Last week, Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 presidential election; his sentencing will be on July 11.

Trump still faces criminal charges in Georgia, Florida and Washington, D.C., but the trials have been delayed and are unlikely to take place until after the Nov. 5 election.

Regarding the closings of the Republican community outreach centers, Florez said those happened because the leases had ended and the Republican National Committee chairperson cannot sign contracts beyond the limit of their tenure, (Ronna McDaniel resigned as RNC chair in February, after Trump handpicked a new leader). When asked if the outreach centers would reopen, Florez said he didn’t know yet, as they are still working out many details of the campaign.

Biden won 63% of the Latino vote in 2020. Trump, however, made inroads with Latino voters in that race compared to 2016, especially in Texas and Florida. According to an April NBC News poll, Latinos favor Biden over Trump, 49% to 39%.

The April poll also found low approval ratings for Biden among Latinos (40%), though that was up from 35% in January.

Trump has made gains among Latino and other voters in recent polls.

The economy has been a top concern for Latinos, and two-thirds of Hispanic people surveyed in NBC News’ April poll thought the economy had not improved under Biden.

Trump held an event in the Bronx in New York City last week aimed at reaching out to Hispanic and Black voters.

Florez said that under Trump, Latinos “had our great hour, our income was better.”

Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement that Biden has delivered “real results” for Latinos, citing lower health care costs, job creation that has resulted in record–low Latino unemployment, and “historic investments leading to Latino small businesses opening at the fastest rate in a decade.”

Florez said part of the appeal for Hispanic people who support Trump is his unscripted style.

“He says the things that we want to hear,” said Florez. “He doesn’t speak our language, but he says what he thinks.”

Florez referred to Trump’s speaking style using an expression in Spanish, “al pan pan y al vino vino,” which means Trump says it like it is.

Trump’s critics, including the Biden campaign, have slammed some of the former president’s recent comments, including floating the possibility of imprisoning his political opponents.

“The American people and the Latino community deserve a president who’s focused on delivering solutions for them and their families instead of a wannabe dictator who’s focused on himself and ripping away our basic freedoms,” Chavez Rodriguez said.