DNC Battleground Brief

August 28, 2020

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.

#TRUMPCHAOS: DEMOCRATS FLOOD THE STATES DURING RNC. Coming out of an unprecedented Democratic National Convention last week, Democrats kept up the momentum throughout Republicans’ chaos convention. Across the battlegrounds, Democrats continued calling out Donald Trump’s disastrous failures. Here’s a sample of what voters were reading and watching this week:

In Arizona:

Arizona Mirror: Jeff Jeans: I’ll be voting like my life depends on it – because it does. “The coverage I received through the ACA gave me a new lease on life — and a new perspective … Today, when I see Donald Trump trying to repeal the ACA, strip away coverage from millions of Americans, and eliminate pre-existing condition protections in the middle of a pandemic, I’m appalled — and frightened to my core.”

In Colorado:

Denver Cancer Survivor Laura Packard on KMGH: “Laura Packard has been fighting over health care with the Trump administration and said that and tonight’s speeches show the administration isn’t in tune with the people … ‘Over 170,000 Americans have died from this pandemic and that didn’t really seem to be a topic of conversation either.’”

In Florida:

Florida Politics: Donna Shalala, Fred Guttenberg drag Donald Trump as RNC kicks off. “A group of prominent Democrats convened on a conference call Monday to lament the Donald Trump presidency, remarks timed to counter-program the Republican National Convention kick off. U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala, who served as President Bill Clinton‘s Secretary of Health and Human Services for eight years, blasted Trump for having …  ‘undermined public education’ and ‘ripped children from families at the border.’”

Palm Beach Post: Lois Frankel says she will work to defeat her most famous constituent, Donald Trump. “Just hours before President Trump accepts the GOP nomination for president, his congressional representative released a video vowing to help defeat him on Nov. 3. … In the video, Frankel slammed Trump saying he is the only one of her constituents she refuses to ‘celebrate.’”

In Georgia:

Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Georgia Democrats say President Donald Trump, Gov. Brian Kemp and other top Republicans have cost voters their lives in the coronavirus pandemic by failing to come up with an effective strategy for fighting its spread. The foundation for the failures came when state leaders refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, said Joyce Barlow, an Albany-based registered nurse and candidate for a Georgia House seat. ‘Instead of taking action, Trump and Kemp have refused to create a real plan, and they’re just extending wishful thinking,’ Barlow said.”

In Iowa:

Des Moines Register: “In a call with press before the RNC’s evening events, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Mark Smith attacked Trump and Reynolds for an ‘appalling’ response to the coronavirus pandemic. He highlighted the more than 57,000 Iowans who have tested positive for the virus and the more than 1,000 Iowans who have died from COVID-19, the disease it causes.”

In Maine:

Bangor Daily News: Maine Lobster Union Representative: Trump’s failed trade war has drowned Maine’s lobster industry. “His trade war led China to impose a 35 percent levy on American lobster, which meant buyers in China purchased their crustaceans from Canada instead. And until just last week, the European Union had a tariff on American lobster. As a result, in the span of one year, our lobster exports to China and Europe have been cut in half, costing lobster fisherman millions of dollars.”

In Michigan:

Detroit News: “The Michigan Democratic Party couched the first night of the convention as ‘full of spin and outright lies.’ ‘The truth is this: Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership has been devastating for Michigan,’ party spokesman Christian Slater said. ‘His failures have cost countless Michiganders their jobs and their lives as this pandemic continues its relentless spread.’”

MLive: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says first night of RNC was ‘grim’ and ‘fear inducing.’ “Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the first night of the Republican National Convention was markedly more negative than the Democratic convention she participated in last week. Whitmer said the GOP event was ‘grim and spiteful and fear inducing’”

In Minnesota:

St. Cloud Times: Joe Baratta: Trump’s ‘Land of Opportunity’ doesn’t reach St. Cloud. “When Trump and Emmer talk about the United States being the ‘Land of Opportunity’ tonight, what they really mean is Land of Opportunity for the rich and well-connected. Take the Carrier plant in Indiana. Trump boasted about saving jobs in the Hoosier State, where Vice President Mike Pence was once governor. Despite his efforts, the plant is still laying off workers and morale has bottomed out. Meanwhile, Trump’s tax cuts helped large corporations with stock buybacks while offering little for workers.”

In Nevada:

Las Vegas Review-Journal: Torres, Cancela denounce Trump’s record on Latinos. “State Sen. Yvanna Cancela, Assemblywoman Selena Torres and several community members denounced President Donald Trump’s record with Latino communities during a conference call scheduled during the first day of the Republican convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on KTNV: “Reid criticized the Republican National Convention, saying the Republicans don’t have a platform, just President Trump, and believes that will not work in their favor. He also went on to applaud Joe Biden’s character and mail-in voting.”

In New Hampshire:

Manchester Ink Link: Pappas criticizes ACA repeal efforts. “Pappas criticized efforts by the Trump administration to repeal the Affordable Care Act or ACA, including recent legal efforts to repeal the legislation that are expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. Pappas added that it was additionally irresponsible to repeal the ACA without providing a clear alternative during a pandemic. ‘Healthcare should be a right and not a privilege,’ he said. ‘If the ACA is struck down, it would unleash chaos in the healthcare system.’”

New Hampshire Union Leader: “One of the women, Michelle O’Leary of Atkinson, said the Affordable Care Act helped her son, Matty, who has a neurodegenerative disease. “That’s what we tell anyone we meet who may be on the fence. We say: ‘Vote for Matty,’” O’Leary said Wednesday. ‘Because the idea of not having the ACA and losing our health insurance, or having a limit on what the health insurance will cover is the difference between life and death for our son.’”

In North Carolina:

WTVD: ‘People are hurting in NC’: DNC Chair strikes back at Trump as Republican National Convention nears end. “‘If you think that a person with a preexisting condition should have access to health care, then you should vote Democrat,’ Tom Perez, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, tells ABC11 in an exclusive interview. ‘We’re fighting for that, while (President) Donald Trump and Republicans like (Senator) Thom Tillis are fighting to do away with your coverage.’”

Charlotte Post: Mayor Vi Lyles: Housing disparities boosted by COVID-19 Systemic inequities plague nation. “Instead of protecting North Carolina’s working families, since the beginning of the pandemic, Donald Trump has rolled back the protections implemented by the Obama-Biden administration in the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation. In an attempt to appeal to his base, Trump has dangerously and falsely claimed that affordable housing would increase crime in neighborhoods.”

In Ohio:

Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Democrats continue to hammer Trump over Goodyear boycott. “Prominent statewide and local Democrats hosted a telephone press conference Tuesday during which they said Trump tweeting for a boycott of Goodyear products shows the president is against Ohio workers and demonstrates how he has mishandled the economy. The tweet sparked a nationwide debate. On the call were U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, state Reps. Tavia Galonski and Emilia Sykes, Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, and Jack Hefner, head of United Steelworkers Local 2, the union that represents hourly Goodyear employees in Akron.”

In Pennsylvania:

WHP: Democrats Unveil RNC Counter-Convention Programming. “The Biden Victory Coordinated Campaign in Pennsylvania holding a ‘weekend of action’ under the ‘Uniting America’ frame, a key message of unity underscored in Joe Biden’s nomination speech and the DNC. This upcoming week, the events will spotlight families in crisis, the economy, health care, and protests in response to systemic racism.”

Penn Live: IBEW Local 143 Member: Donald Trump’s policies have hurt workers in Pennsylvania. “With Donald Trump as president, conditions for working Pennsylvanians have gotten even worse. Right now, a little under 900,000 Pennsylvanians are out of work, more than twice as many as when Trump took office. And while there’s no question that Trump’s failed leadership has led to disaster when COVID-19 hit, this isn’t just because of the pandemic; even before the coronavirus, Pennsylvania actually had fewer manufacturing jobs under Trump than it did during the Obama administration.”

In Texas:

El Paso Times: U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro: President Trump wants to turn American dream into nightmare for Latinos. “What President Donald Trump dangerously calls an immigrant ‘invasion’ — deeply disturbing white nationalist language that the El Paso shooter echoed —  countless families over the course of our nation’s history would call the pursuit of the American dream: A journey of hope, hard work and an unflagging belief in America. In that spirit, my grandmother often worked two or three jobs at a time to give her daughter and her grandchildren a better chance in life. Today, I’m sad to say that under Trump, the American dream my grandmother believed in so fiercely has turned into a living nightmare for many people, but especially for Latinos.”

In Virginia:

WDVM: Gold Star father Khizr Khan: 2016 fears of Trump presidency have come true. “Khan says what he had feared as an American immigrant has come true. ‘We had feared that our Constitution would be attacked, our democracy would be attacked, our rule of law would be attacked,’ said Khan, who raised his copy of the Constitution during his DNC speech four years ago. ‘Never before in the history of our country have we faced so many serious issues, like the attack on our free press.’”

Check out a lot more HERE!

HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE. Wherever Trump, Pence, and their cronies go, Democrats are calling out their broken promises. Check it out:

In Michigan:

In New Hampshire:

  • Union Leader: Former GOP Sen. Gordon Humphrey: Biggest crisis America faces is in the White House. “We live in a uniquely dangerous time, and I am speaking out against Donald Trump because he is a uniquely dangerous president. Over the past four days of the Republican National Convention we’ve heard a lot of bluster, bravado, and brazen lies from President Trump — but never once did he present a real plan to help Americans. He is a man consumed by his own ego, so focused on himself that he has lost sight of the people he is supposed to serve and protect.”

WHILE DEMOCRATS KEEP UP THEIR VOTE-BY-MAIL ADVANTAGE…

  • (NC) Wall Street Journal: “In North Carolina, Democratic registered voters requested 53% of the absentee ballots compared with 15% from Republican voters”

  • (PA) McClatchy: “Democrats in Pennsylvania account for two-thirds of the 1.3 million mail ballot requests that have already been made”

  • (TX) Texas Tribune: “Earlier this month, the Texas Democratic Party announced its get out the vote effort for the general election includes getting more than 815,000 applications to eligible voters.”

… REPUBLICAN HYPOCRISY ON FULL DISPLAY. Politico: Don Jr. robocall urges supporters to vote by mail. “Donald Trump Jr. is urging voters to cast absentee ballots in robocalls detected across the nation Wednesday — even as his father continues to rail against widespread mail-in voting.”

TRUMP’S NARROWING PATH. Trump’s path to reelection continues to narrow, as key states and voter groups reject his toxic agenda. Here are a few trends to watch in the battlegrounds:

YOUR WEEKLY REMINDER: VOTERS HATE SLOW MAIL! Nevada Current: ‘Extremely frustrating’ mail delays for prescriptions hit veterans, rural areas. “Veterans, people who require specialty medications, rural residents far from pharmacies and others who receive their prescription medications through the Postal Service say they have experienced delays and other delivery disruptions after the Trump administration made changes to post office operations. The anecdotes have added fuel to Democrats’ criticism of a Postal Service overhaul they say is to blame, and involve a key group that President Donald Trump has worked to court throughout his presidency—veterans, who rely heavily on the mail for their medications.”

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