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. 

“EXPLODING”: BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRATS SLAM TRUMP AS COVID CASES SKYROCKET. Four months into this pandemic, coronavirus cases are spiking across the country and even breaking records in some states. Across the battlegrounds, Democrats, health experts, and front line workers called out the devastating impacts of Donald Trump’s failed, erratic response.

In Florida:

Lakeland Ledger: Democrats aim ad blitz at Pence. “Vice President Mike Pence canceled a scheduled Thursday visit to Lake Wales, but the Democratic National Committee engineered a message for him in Polk County anyway. The committee arranged a ‘homepage takeover’ of The Ledger’s website, reserving advertising space for a 24-hour period.”

Florida Politics: Democratic ad spotlights ‘exploding’ coronavirus, President Trump’s China capitulation. “A thirty second ad launched Tuesday by the Democratic National Committee hits President Donald Trump on coronavirus failings, framing it in a larger capitulation to China.”

In Nevada:

NV Dems: “Donald Trump is more concerned with his re-election than seriously addressing this pandemic and local Republicans are contorting themselves to act as his rubber stamp. Every day, Nevadans continue to live with the consequences of this Administration’s failure to address this virus and, come November, they will hold Trump and Republicans accountable.”  

In New Hampshire:

State Senator Martha Hennessey: “In the Western part of New Hampshire, we are reeling from the impacts of COVID-19 in our communities, and we can trace the severity of this crisis back to Donald Trump and his chaotic, unprepared, and failed response which has actively made the coronavirus outbreak worse for our seniors in long-term care.”

In Pennsylvania:

PA Dems Chair Nancy Patton Mills on CBS 21: “Donald Trump still has not delivered on a national testing strategy, he regularly mocks the use of masks and continues to push states around the country to re-open before it’s safe to do so.”

In Wisconsin:

WIZM: Former La Crosse County board chair Johnson slams GOP on coronavirus response. “[The] state Democratic Party featured Tara Johnson criticizing state and federal Republican leaders for downplaying the seriousness of COVID-19. Johnson pointed to the large increase in La Crosse County cases during June to argue that stay-at-home orders were lifted prematurely.”

READ THE ROOM — TRUMP CHEERS 17.8 MILLION AMERICANS OUT OF WORK. While Trump celebrated a devastating economic outlook for working families, Democrats across the country called out his failure to protect Americans’ livelihoods.

• AZ Dems: “The American people deserve a President with compassion and competence. That’s why they will be voting for Vice President Biden in November.” 
• FL Dems: “Donald Trump’s leadership failure is devastating our economy and costing Floridians their jobs, their savings, and their lives.”
• GA Dems: “Under Donald Trump’s failed leadership on coronavirus, our economy is struggling and Georgians have lost their livelihoods.”
• NC Dems: “Working North Carolinians continue to bear the brunt of this administration’s failures.”
• OH Dems: “Donald Trump keeps breaking his promises, and Ohioans are paying the price.”
• PA Dems: “Donald Trump can’t pin this recession on the virus alone, it’s a direct result of his reckless response. Pennsylvanians can’t afford any more of his failed leadership.” 
• VA Dems: “From the beginning of this pandemic, Donald Trump has failed to protect the health, lives, and livelihoods of Virginians.”
• WI Dems: “Wisconsin families are suffering simply because Trump cares more about what he looks like on TV than their livelihoods and wellbeing.”

HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE. Wherever Trump and his cronies go, Democrats will be there to hold them accountable. See for yourself!

In Arizona:

Arizona State Representative and Doctor Randy Friese on ABC 15: “Trump has wasted months ignoring the warning signs from experts, Trump has ignored the science, and downplayed this pandemic. When it mattered most, Trump has failed to take action. Arizona is at the epicenter of one of the worst public health crises in history.”

• Arizona Republic: “Shortly before Pence stepped off the plane, Arizona Democratic Party Chairwoman Felecia Rotellini, Democratic lawmakers, and a Tucson physician criticized Trump, Pence and Ducey for downplaying the gravity of the coronavirus risks. Rotellini called Pence’s trip a ‘photo op.’”
• KYMA: Arizona frontline workers seek more action from Trump Administration. “Ahead of Vice President Pence’s visit to Arizona Wednesday, Arizona Democratic leaders and frontline workers held a conference to discuss what they say is the Trump Administration’s failed response to COVID-19.”
• Cronkite News: “‘We don’t need presidential visits or vice president visits or campaign visits. We need testing, we need staff and we need supplies,’ said state Rep. Randy Friese, D-Tucson, who works as an emergency physician.” 
• Arizona Republic: Has Vice President Mike Pence lost his mind on COVID-19, or does he think we have? “Then again, Pence’s fantasy of success shouldn’t surprise us. It’s not much different than the Trump’s long strain of delusional claims about the virus. […] That delusion has not disappeared, even as the lives of thousands of Americans have done just that.”

In Florida:

Florida Politics: Donna Shalala, Democratic leaders rip Trump administration in advance of Mike Pence’s Florida visit. “South Florida Democratic leaders blasted President Donald Trump’s administration for its handling of the coronavirus epidemic Thursday morning in advance of a visit by Vice President Mike Pence.”

• Associated Press: Florida reports 10,000 coronavirus cases for 1st time. “Earlier Thursday, Florida Democrats criticized the coronavirus response from the White House and DeSantis as needlessly endangering lives by opening up too soon and not mandating safety measures such as masks.”

In Texas:

Dallas Morning News: Mike Pence in Dallas as Gov. Abbott says COVID-19 has taken ‘very dangerous turn in Texas.’ “‘The COVID-19 situation is out of control,’ said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa. ‘Pence doesn’t get it. The best way to get out of a hole is not to keep digging deeper. We need drastic measures and for the administration to show some leadership.’”

• Dallas Morning News: Dallas County records 496 coronavirus cases, a new one-day high, and 10 deaths. “‘We broke 300 two weeks ago. We broke 400 a week ago. We’re at 496 and counting today,’ County Judge Clay Jenkins said on a conference call with other Democrats ahead of Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to First Baptist Dallas on Sunday.”
• CBS Dallas: “On Friday, the Texas Democratic Party held a virtual news conference featuring various North Texas elected leaders who criticized the President’s, Vice President’s, and Governor Abbott’s response to the pandemic. U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas said, ‘Mr. Vice President, we need your attention in this area.’ […] She also complained that the state does not have enough tests for residents in under-served communities.” 

In Ohio:

Youngstown Vindicator: “Pepper said the visits are intended to ‘spin Donald Trump’s disastrous trade failures, but today’s photo ops can’t change the fact that General Motors is building its new Chevrolet Blazer in Mexico, not their Lordstown plant, which GM shut down last year.’”

In Pennsylvania:

GoErie.com: US commerce chief touts new trade deal in Erie stop. “The Pennsylvania Democratic Party said Erie County has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs since Trump took office and said ‘Trump failed to keep his promise to get tough on China.’”

In Michigan:

MI Dems: “Donald Trump has failed small businesses in Michigan with his disastrous COVID-19 response and a Paycheck Protection Program that put big corporations first while leaving small businesses behind. After months of erratic economic leadership, he’s now sending Jovita Carranza to Michigan to clean up his mess just as fears of yet another wave of COVID threaten our state.”

• MI Dems: “Sonny Perdue is coming to our state in a desperate attempt to cover for their failures after mocking farmers as ‘whiners.’ Cheap handouts and empty words can’t undo the damage done by Donald Trump’s failed leadership.”

In Louisiana:

LA Dems: “Betsy DeVos can’t spin her boss’ three and a half years of broken promises. Instead of getting emergency resources to schools that need it, Trump and DeVos are using this crisis to push a failed, anti-education agenda.”

VOTERS SWARM TO VOTE-BY-MAIL … INCLUDING REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS!

• Wisconsin State Journal: 80% of Wisconsin Republican legislators voted absentee in April. “Wisconsin Republicans who oppose making it easier for people to vote absentee have taken advantage of the opportunity to vote by mail in recent elections, with more than 80% of GOP members of the state Legislature doing it in April.”
• Detroit Free Press: Michigan issues more than 1 million absentee ballots, sees surge in voter registration. “Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office provided data Wednesday showing that local clerks across Michigan have received a total of more than 1.3 million requests for absentee ballots. The data shared with the Free Press also indicated more than a million absentee ballots have already been sent out. That’s about 3½ times the number of applications received and ballots issued ahead of the August primary in the last presidential election cycle in 2016.”
• The New York Times: An Election Day Success. “Voters didn’t have to wait in long lines. Turnout was high. And results were available shortly after the polls closed. […] Colorado accomplished all of this thanks to a universal system of voting by mail, which began in 2014.”

PAGING RONNA: DEMS KEEP BUILDING VOTER REGISTRATION ADVANTAGE.

• Portland Press-Herald: Democrats take lead in voter registrations in Maine. “For the first time in more than three decades, Democrats have the largest bloc of registered voters in Maine, with more than 40,000 new party members enrolled since the last presidential election cycle in 2016. Over the same four-year period, Republicans have added fewer than 6,000 new members, according to voter registration data from the Secretary of State’s Office. That gives Democrats more than a 90,000-vote advantage – the largest in the last five presidential election cycles – over their conservative rivals.”

GUEST COLUMN IN THE NH BUSINESS REVIEW: “TRUMP GOT PLAYED BY CHINA; GRANITE STATERS PAY THE PRICE.” “It’s no wonder that, while groveling for help in his re-election, Trump told China’s President Xi Jinping that Democrats would be tougher on China. After three and a half years of Trump’s failed theatrics, we can do better. Granite Staters deserve a president who will truly make America great again by standing up and fighting for us on the world stage. This November, we’re going to get one in Joe Biden.”

THE STORY THAT ISN’T GOING ANYWHERE. This week, we learned that Donald Trump received intelligence reports that Russia paid bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan, including U.S. servicemembers — and he still refuses to take any action to punish Russia and protect troops on the ground. Democratic leaders and veterans across the country called out this dereliction of duty:

• DNC Veterans and Military Families Council: “Trump’s failure to take action and his betrayal of American troops makes him a national security threat. Enough is enough. We must restore civility, trust, and competence to the White House by electing Joe Biden as our next president and commander in chief of the United States.”
• ME State Representative John Schneck: “It’s unconscionable that Donald Trump would sit by and do nothing in response to credible intelligence that Russia offered bounties on American service members […] As a veteran, I’m appalled that Trump is putting Americans in harm’s way by capitulating to authoritarians like Putin.”
• NV Dems Chair William McCurdy II, Nevada State Senator Pat Spearman, and DNC Committeeman Alex Goff: “It is difficult to comprehend how self-involved one must be to blatantly ignore intel about a grave danger posed to U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan.”
• Texas Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign Director Brooklynne Mosley: “This is a flat-out betrayal of members of the military, their families, and our country. Texas Republicans must fully condemn Trump’s actions and demand a full account to Congress and the public. The American people and U.S. troops deserve answers.”
• VA State Senator Dick Saslaw: “Our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives every day and expect our Commander in Chief to have their backs. But this president panders to our enemies and feigns ignorance when bounties are placed on the heads of those that wear the uniform for this nation.”

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 4th! 

The DNC Comms Team