Happy (almost) holidays! This is the DNC’s Battleground Brief — a weekly wrap-up of Trump’s broken promises and everything you need to know across the path to 270. After this edition, we’ll return in 2020.   

COURT RULING CONFIRMS HEALTH CARE WILL BE DEFINING ISSUE OF  2020. Here’s what this week’s ACA court ruling means for the presidential race: Trump’s health care agenda that jeopardizes coverage protections for those with preexisting conditions and spikes costs will continue to be a defining issue of the 2020 campaign — and Democrats across the country are speaking out: 

From Chair Perez: “Donald Trump and Republicans went to court to destroy Americans’ health care, and now they’re closer than ever before…Make no mistake: health care is on the ballot in 2020. And the American people are ready to elect a president they can trust to protect it.”

From Wisconsin Democrats:  “We are going to make sure every voter in this state is aware of the President’s broken promises and the steps he has taken to try to take away their health care.”

From Pennsylvania Democrats: “Trump and Republicans are now one step closer to destroying our health care system. […] Health care is on the ballot in 2020 and Pennsylvanians will not be fooled by Trump’s broken promises.”

From Ohio Democrats: “Trump and the GOP have never had a plan for health care — this lawsuit that he’s cheerleading is the Republican plan. It will rip coverage away from more than half a million Ohioans who are covered under the Medicaid expansion, take protections away from nearly five million Ohioans with pre-existing conditions and put as many as one-fourth of Ohio’s hospitals at risk for closure.”

Lots more from state parties across the battlegrounds here. 

GREETING TRUMP WHEN HE LANDED IN MICHIGAN, FROM BRIDGE: WELCOME TO MICHIGAN PRESIDENT TRUMP. ABOUT THAT ECONOMY YOU PROMISED…The Bridge news-service greeted Trump’s visit to Michigan this week with a rundown of the reality of his economic record, some highlights: 

• “Three years later, Calhoun County has not experienced the big gains Trump promised in 2016. Jobs have decreased, as have wages when adjusted for inflation. Manufacturing — which comprises more than 20 percent of all jobs in the county — continues to be particularly hard hit. Those jobs are down 6 percent and total manufacturing wages declined nearly 18 percent.”
• “That trend is writ large in the other 11 counties that Trump pried away from Democrats and in the Midwest as a whole, where data indicate that counties that favored Trump are being left behind.”
• “A Bridge analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the [manufacturing] decline is even more precipitous in Michigan’s 12 counties that swung in favor of the GOP in 2016.” 
• “When adjusted for inflation, wages in five of the 12 counties have declined since 2016 and more than half have wage growth below the statewide average. All but one (Eaton County) has lost jobs, and all but Macomb lag behind Michigan’s job growth of 2.2 percent.”

NBC: DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE & STATE PARTIES HIGHLIGHT “TRUMP’S ‘BROKEN PROMISES’ TO WORKERS.”  NBC took a deep dive into how Democrats are exposing the truth about Trump’s broken economic promises. From the report: 

• “Rust Belt swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin have lost thousands of manufacturing jobs this year, after an earlier revival, due in part to trade disputes. And unemployment rates have begun to tick up a bit in dozens of battleground counties in the industrial Midwest.”
• “Democrats say rising health and child care costs, ballooning student debt and concerns about retirement savings have left many voters feeling anxious about the future.” 
• “The Democratic National Committee and state parties plan to highlight what they call Trump’s ‘broken promises’ to help forgotten workers. For instance, in 2017 he traveled to Youngstown, Ohio, to assure voters he would revive the struggling manufacturing sector and keep open a nearby G.M. plant the automaker was threatening to close. ‘Those jobs have left Ohio — they’re all coming back. They’re all coming back,’ Trump told a cheering crowd. ‘Don’t move. Don’t sell your house.’ G.M. shuttered the plant this year.”

THIS WEEKEND MARKS TWO YEARS SINCE TRUMP SIGNED HIS TAX SCAM INTO LAW — DEMOCRATS ARE POUNCING. 

• From Wisconsin: MEMO: DPW Chair Ben Wikler: The Economy Will Not Help Trump In Wisconsin. “Trump’s signature piece of legislation, the 2017 tax bill, has proven to be nothing more than a handout for the largest corporations and richest Americans.” 
• From Pennsylvania: PA Dems Chair Statement On Two Year Anniversary of GOP Tax Scam. “During a visit to Gettysburg in 2016, then-candidate Trump promised a group of Pennsylvanians that his Administration’s tax agenda would put the middle-class first. Not only did the Administration break that promise, but it did the exact opposite — sign into law a huge giveaway to the ultra-rich and large corporations.”
• From Florida: FDP Chair Statement on Two-Year Anniversary of Trump’s Tax Scam. “Trump promised Floridians that he would lower taxes for ‘everybody.’ But once again, Trump broke his promise to voters in the Sunshine State,” said Chair Terrie Rizzo, “In reality, Trump’s tax scam showered the richest corporations with billions in tax cuts, while working families have seen no benefits. If Trump thinks he can pass off his Tax Scam as a win for Florida, he is sorely mistaken — and will find that out come Election Day 2020.”
• From Michigan:

FLORIDA LAYING THE GROUNDWORK TO WIN —  “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY SAYS HIS PARTY IS ‘ INVESTING EARLY’ FOR 2020 ELECTIONS.” Read more from the News Service of Florida here.

AND GROWING THE TEAM — “FRANCES SWANSON NAMED FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S RAPID RESPONSE DIRECTOR.”  From FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo: “The road to the White House runs right through Florida and it is crucial we have someone dedicated to exposing Trump for who he really is — a corrupt and ineffective President who consistently breaks his promises to Floridians.” Read more from Florida Politics here. 

WELL THIS  IS AWKWARD …POLITICO REVEALS TRUMP’S NEW HAMPSHIRE CAMPAIGN IS IN SHAMBLES. This week POLITICO reported that the Trump campaign abruptly fired their New Hampshire state director. From DNC spokesman John Weber: 

“If Trump is having a bad day in Washington, he’s having a disastrous week in the battlegrounds. Less than one year out from Election Day, his New Hampshire campaign is in shambles. While his team points fingers and throws staff under the bus, New Hampshire Democrats are busy organizing, building general election infrastructure, and talking to voters about Trump’s broken promises to Granite Staters.”

CHAIR PEREZ HIGHLIGHTS HEALTH CARE AT LATINO ROUNDTABLE IN LA. Ahead of Thursday’s debate in Los Angeles, DNC Chair Tom Perez, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, and health care leaders from across the state met to discuss the importance of health care options for Latinos. Perez: “The absence of sufficient health care professions with workforce diversity was one of the primary causes of racial and ethnic disparity in health care.” More here.

WHEREVER TRUMP OR HIS CRONIES GO, DEMOCRATS ARE HOLDING ARE THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR HIS BROKEN PROMISES.

In Michigan:

• • MLive: Michigan Democrats slam Trump’s ‘desperate’ Battle Creek campaign rally. “Michigan Democratic Party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes framed President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Battle Creek as a ‘desperate’ attempt to convince voters in swing counties to support his reelection campaign.”
    
  • The Detroit News: “Michigan Democrats held a quick press conference where Chairwoman Lavora Barnes accused Trump of breaking promises to residents of the state that he carried by 10,704 votes in 2016. ‘We’re working every day, putting boots on the ground and knuckles on the doors to hold this president accountable for his broken promises.’”
  • MLive: “‘We’ve got our own Trump removal plan, it’s going to go into effect in November 2020,’ Barnes said. ‘I think the base supporters of the president don’t seem to recognize the president has broken the law, that he’s obstructed justice. They aren’t going to move, but the people of Michigan will see through all of that.’”

Read the full roundup here from Michigan Democrats.

In Florida:

Tallahassee Democrat: “Democrats panned the announcement as ‘a smoke and mirrors attempt to cover up Trump’s endless broken promises on health care.’ ‘Today, the Trump Administration is putting on a show to hawk another empty promise to Floridians, but all shows must come to an end,’ said Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo. ‘Floridians will remember Trump’s attacks on their health care at the ballot box this November.’”

In California:

• DNC: Lotter Can’t Spin Trump’s Atrocious Record Toward Women. “Democratic National Committee spokesperson Maya Hixson released the following statement: ‘Donald Trump’s disdain for women has never been a secret, and his contempt for our fundamental rights and dignities is on full display every day — from his misogynistic comments during last night’s rally in Michigan to his relentless attacks on women’s health care to his attempts to block women from accessing equal pay for equal work.’”

IOWANS CAN NOW CAUCUS FROM MADRID, IOWA TO PARIS, FRANCE.

The Iowa Democratic Party released a list of 99 approved satellite caucus sites Wednesday afternoon. The list includes sites in 13 other states and D.C., as well as three in foreign countries: France, Scotland and the Republic of Georgia. Read more here. 

FROM THE NEVADA CURRENT: TAGALOG TRAININGS POP UP AHEAD OF NEVADA’S CAUCUS.  “Nevada has one of the nation’s fastest growing AAPI populations, which has increased 167 percent since 2000 according to the policy research group AAPI Data. An estimated 335,000 AAPI Nevadans account for roughly 10 percent of the state’s population. About half of them, roughly 162,000 are Filipino.”

WISCONSIN DEMS WILL PROTECT EVERY PERSON’S RIGHT TO VOTE.

This week, Wisconsin Republicans announced they would be purging more than 200,000 voters from the rolls before 2020 — and the Wisconsin Democrats are fighting back. From Chair Ben Wikler: “This is an organizing challenge,” […]  “It’s a reason to work, not to freak out.” Read more from PBS: Wisconsin Democrats vow to register voters who may be purged.

“IT’S KILLING US” — TRUMP GOT ROLLED BY CHINA AND THE GUARDIAN EXPOSES THE IMPACT OF TRADE POLICIES IN THE MIDWEST.  A devastating report from The Guardian detailed the terrible impacts of Trump’s erratic trade policies for working families across many battleground states. From the report: 

• “Layoffs are common, shifts have been cut – and workers in America’s manufacturing and farming heartlands are losing hope.” 
• “Buckles, 40, worked at the John Deere construction and forestry manufacturing plant in Davenport for three years until he lost his job last month. He was one of 113 workers laid off; John Deere anticipates a 10-15% decline in sales of construction and forestry equipment next year.” 
• “Trump campaigned on promises to bring back jobs, particularly to communities in the midwest that have been devastated from the decline of industry. But manufacturing has continued to suffer.”

**MORE BAD BAD ECONOMIC HEADLINES FOR TRUMP**

NYT: There Are Economic Warning Signs for Trump in the Midwest

NBC: Trump’s campaigning on the roaring economy. Here’s how Democrats plan to stop him.

Business Insider: Trump’s trade deal with China failed to boost confidence in the economy

The Hill: Democrats say Trump economy is not working for most Americans

WSJ: U.S. Steel Plans to Idle Michigan Mill

WaPo: (Opinion) Happy Birthday, GOP tax cuts. Welcome to your terrible twos.

Make sure to follow the DNC’s War Room (@DNCWarRoom) to get real-time updates on Trump’s abuses of power and broken promises.

Happy Friday! 

The DNC Comms Team