DNC Battleground Brief

September 25, 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. 

“THE ACA SAVED MY LIFE”: DEMOCRATS PUMMEL TRUMP ON HEALTH CARE. Democrats across the country are slamming Donald Trump’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act, calling out his attempts to strip away coverage, spike health care costs, and deny protections for millions of Americans with preexisting conditions like cancer, asthma, and COVID-19.

  • (NH) Manchester Ink Link: Trump attacked on senior healthcare during Democratic roundtable. “The New Hampshire Democratic Party held an online roundtable this week to discuss how they believe Donald Trump would harm healthcare for senior citizens if he is re-elected. State Sen. Cindy Rosenwald (D-Nashua) voiced … concerns that his efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act would endanger Medicare access for over 300,000 New Hampshire residents.”

  • (NC) Cardinal & Pine: The ACA Saved My Life. We Can’t Let Trump Destroy It. “It’s no exaggeration to say that the Affordable Care Act saved my life. If it weren’t for the coverage I gained through the ACA, I never would have known about the disease that was spreading through my body … There is a cruel irony in the fact that Donald Trump will travel to my home of Charlotte today to talk about health care. Perhaps the only consistent position Donald Trump has always held is his commitment to dismantling the ACA, throwing people like me into financial and medical uncertainty.”

  • (OH) Dayton Daily News: Biden, Ohio Democrats speak out before Trump’s Dayton visit. “U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, who represents Toledo-area Ohioans, said Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic forced people out of work and off health insurance. ‘More and more people are falling off their health care benefits,’ Kaptur said. ‘And we’ve had so much difficulty because of the ham-handed manner in which he’s handled the pandemic crisis.’”

  • (PA) WESA: “Fitzgerald and state Democratic Party Chair Nancy Patton Mills also noted that the administration has been waging a legal battle against the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, with no plan to replace the ACA’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. A new Supreme Court justice could deliver a fatal blow to the law this fall. ‘Just one week after the election, the Supreme Court will hear Trump’s attempt to tear down the Affordable Care Act,’ Patton Mills said.’”

  • (WI) WKBT: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin calls out President Trump, says he hasn’t followed through with health care promises. “‘Ever since the Affordable Care Act was passed we’ve been hearing time and time again from the Republicans that they would offer something better. So where is their plan? As a candidate, Donald Trump promised he’d lower health care and lower prescription drug costs, all while protecting people with preexisting conditions. And yet, we see from this administration effort after effort to cut health care and promote junk insurance plans that aren’t even worth the paper they’re written on,’ Baldwin said.”

MOM AND POP ARE SPEAKING OUT. Across the country, Democrats joined with small business owners to call out the devastating economic consequences of Trump’s chaotic pandemic response.

  • (AZ) Arizona State Senator Tony Navarrete on Univision Arizona: “Hemos perdido más de 110,000 negocios pequeños alrededor de este país … Porque necesitamos liderazgo que está listo para tomar en serio pandemia y como servir y apoyar a nuestros negocios pequeños.”

  • (CO) Univision Colorado: “Hoy representantes hispanos de pequeños negocios se reunieron para opinar sobre la problemática económica que afecta a las minorías del país. Es  que según denuncian el presidente Donald Trump no ha apoyado como es debido. Por lo que ven esperanzados un cambio de administración que lidere el candidato demócrata Joe Biden. Veamos sus reacciones … ‘Creemos que es el tiempo de que la administración cambié para que se nos incluya como parte del plan de crecimiento en el desarrollo económico que nosotros necesitamos.’”

  • (CO) Sentinel Colorado: Sen. Michael Bennet: Donald Trump left Colorado’s small businesses behind. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will put them first. “Colorado’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, employing more than one million people and serving as vital engines of economic growth. But as a result of President Trump’s failed pandemic response, small businesses are running out of cash—and running out of time.”

  • (ME) Mount Desert Islander: Amid a global pandemic, Vacationland is on hold. “But if Trump’s response to the virus was a fiasco, his reaction to the economic recession that has occurred might be even worse. When he ran for president, he promised us he’d be the ‘dealmaker-in-chief,’ but it’s been nearly two months since expanded unemployment benefits for tens of millions of Americans expired, and he’s spent more time on the golf course than at the negotiating table. Trump can insist that our economy is surging back, but it’s just not true.”

TRUMP LIED, 200,000 DIED. As the United States’ COVID-19 death toll surpassed 200,000 this week, Democrats across the country came together to commemorate the lives of those lost and hold Trump accountable for his incompetent pandemic response.

  • Newsweek: ‘Trump Lied, 200,000 Died’ Neon Sign Displayed at White House as U.S. Nears Milestone. “A neon sign was placed in front of the White House with a message blaming President Donald Trump for the coronavirus death rate in the U.S. The display reading ‘Trump lied, 200,000 died’ was held up by several Democrats and paid for by the DNC, WSET reported. The sign was lit up on Sunday night as the U.S. is on the verge of hitting the 200,000 milestone for COVID-19 deaths.”

  • (AZ) KSAZ: “The night of Sept. 20, all eyes were on the Arizona Capitol as local Democrats hold a light display to remember the people who lost their lives not only in Arizona, but across the nation due to complications from COVID-19.”

  • (FL) Palm Beach Post: Vigil held near Trump International Golf Club for Covid-19 deaths. “Mark Beaumont, Joyce Brown and Bruce Brown hold a small vigil near Trump International Golf Club Sunday night September 20, 2020 in West Palm Beach as the United States approaches 200,000 deaths caused by Covid-19.”

  • Check out much more HERE.

VOY A VOTAR! Across the country, Democrats are continuing to engage and mobilize Latino voters in the final weeks before Election Day — and DNC Chair Tom Perez is helping lead the way.

  • (AZ) KYMA: DNC says Latino Americans disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 due to Pres. Trump’s response. “Monday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) held a press call on the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Latino communities … DNC Chair Tom Perez, said, ‘Roughly one in five deaths are Latino. Adjusted for age, Latinos account for twice as many COVID deaths as their share of the population.’”

  • (FL) Florida Politics: Democrats’ ads say Donald Trump failed Puerto Rico. “National Democrats have released a pair of new digital advertisements in Central Florida to remind how Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico three years ago and to declare that President Donald Trump ‘has failed Puerto Rico.’ The Democratic National Committee spots feature footage of the storm, the damage and Trump tossing paper towels into a crowd during his Oct. 3, 2017, visit to the island.”

  • (NC) WRAL: Julián Castro, DNC Chair Tom Perez to join Todos Con Biden virtual voter rally in North Carolina. “On Friday, September 25, Biden for President North Carolina will host a virtual Todos con Biden GOTV Rally to highlight the impact Latino voters will have in this election and discuss what is at stake for the Latino community. Former Secretary Julián Castro and DNC Chair Tom Perez will encourage the Latino community to get involved and make their voices heard, along with Durham City Councilmember Javiera Caballero and local community organizers.”

  • (PA) Al Día: Latinos aren’t a number: Top leaders talk mobilizing PA’s Latinx vote. “The Hispanic Caucus stopped in Pennsylvania Wednesday night for a discussion featuring DNC Chairman Tom Perez, Rep. Danilo Burgos, and Philadelphia City Councilwoman María Quiñones-Sánches … According to Tom Perez, the linchpin of the Latino engagement strategy has been understanding that we are Latino communities — plural, and though we share many challenges in common, we also have unique ones.”

TRUMP’S LATEST HYPOCRISY: Miami Herald: Trump registered his trademark in Cuba in 2008 to build hotels, casinos and golf courses. “Despite earlier promises in Miami that he would not do business in Cuba until the island was ‘free,’ Donald Trump applied in 2008 to register his Trump trademark in the Caribbean nation for a variety of commercial activities, including investing in real estate, hotels, casinos and golf courses.”

HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE. Wherever Trump, Pence, and their cronies go, Democrats are calling out their broken promises. See for yourself:

In Arizona: 

Associated Press: “‘I will never support an individual who does not have the empathy, the understanding for those who have given their lives for this country,’ former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, a Republican who is backing Biden, said in a Friday conference call organized by the Arizona Democratic Party.”

  • Arizona Republic: “Ahead of Pence’s planned visit at a Veterans for Trump event, the Arizona Democratic Party organized a call with two Arizona veterans who said Trump’s comments on military members and veterans have been disgraceful … ‘That’s not a commander in chief,’ Romley said. ‘I ask every veteran and everybody serving in the military today to ask themselves: Is that the person you want in the foxhole next to you? To have your back? Absolutely not.’”

In Florida: 

WJXT: Jacksonville leaders: Trump has failed Black community in Duval County. “Florida Democratic Party leaders said the events unfolding ahead of the November election should play a role in who voters choose at the polls —from the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a decision by a Kentucky grand jury to not charge Louisville police in the death of Breonna Taylor.”

  • WJCT: Area Veterans Show Support For Biden Before Trump’s Thursday Jacksonville Rally. “Ahead of President Donald Trump’s campaign rally at Cecil Airport in Jacksonville Thursday, the Florida Democratic Party held a virtual roundtable with local veterans to talk about why they will be supporting Joe Biden in November. ‘I trust him to do what he says, to own up to what he does and does not do,’ said Command Sgt. Major Michele Jones … She also took a shot at Trump’s alleged comments against U.S. soldiers who died in war. ‘Would you trust, work with, work for or defend, or befriend someone who views you and calls you a loser or sucker? I cannot,’ Jones said.”

  • WJXT: Demonstrators hoped to ‘send a message’ during Trump’s Jacksonville visit. “Larry Douglas Snyder said he disagrees with how President Trump has handled the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Two hundred thousand dead. Lies, lies, lies. That’s it. Trump told lies and 200,000 people died because of it. That’s a huge deal,’ Snyder said.”

In Minnesota: 

Pioneer Press: Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump visit metro, pushing law-and-order message. Dems: What about the pandemic? “During a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party conference call before the Pence event, Andy Slavitt, a Minnesotan who served as health care adviser to former President Barack Obama, said, ‘My fear is that in these types of situations, President Trump and Vice President Pence come and use them as distractions, number one, and then also, in the process, create more heat and more fear.’”

  • WDIO: DFL rep: Pence “law and order” visit is distraction from COVID-19. “A DFL representative says Vice President Mike Pence’s ‘Cops for Trump’ event in Minneapolis is a distraction from the real issue: COVID-19. Bernadine Engledorf, first vice president for the Minnesota Nurses Association, said there is a lack of federal leadership in the effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. ‘We need to do it right. And we need our federal government behind us,’ Engledorf said.”

In New Hampshire: 

Manchester Ink Link: Democrats criticize Pence NH visit, call NHGOP “a hot mess.” “New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said he did not expect Pence to give any remorse during his visit for the 200,000 people who have died from COVID-19 nationally or the thousands in New Hampshire who have been economically impacted, stating that Pence and Trump lied about the pandemic and failed to react to the pandemic properly. ‘The people of New Hampshire will not be taken for fools,’ said Buckley. ‘It’s clear (Trump and Pence) knew how bad this would be and didn’t take the necessary steps to contain the damage.’”

  • WMUR: Physician, joining Democrats, attributes to ‘luck’ the lack of COVID-19 cases related to Trump rally. “Heidi Carrington Heath, an Exeter minister and self-described ‘long-hauler,’ said, ‘I am a victim of President Trump’s abject failure to share what he knew when he knew it about the severity of this virus with the American people. If President Trump had been honest in early 2020 about what he knew about COVID, I am one of many, many young faces of the long-haul COVID community who would either still be healthy, or worse, still be alive,’ she said. ‘Instead, he lied.’”

In Ohio:

Columbus Dispatch: As Trump heads to Ohio, Democrats say he’s broken many promises to state’s voters. “Donald Trump often campaigns on the ‘promises made, promises kept’ slogan … As he prepares to make a two-stop visit to Ohio today, Democrats have a slightly different version: ‘His real record has been one of broken promises,’ Toledo Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur says. She and three other Democratic leaders took part in an online pre-buttal to Trump rallies at airports in Dayton and Toledo.”

  • Dayton Daily News: Biden, Ohio Democrats speak out before Trump’s Dayton visit. “President Donald Trump has failed to keep Americans safe during a coronavirus pandemic and taken a ‘sledgehammer’ to trade policies that had benefited Ohio manufacturers and farmers, said Ohio Democrats and their party’s presidential nominee in advance of President Donald Trump’s campaign stops today near Dayton and outside Toledo.”

  • Toledo Blade: “‘My constituents and Ohioans know the truth,’ [U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur] said. ‘His real record has been one of broken promises. Where are all the lower prescription drug prices we were supposed to get? Where is the infrastructure bill to employ Americans from coast to coast and repairing our public assets? And Donald Trump has broken his promises to Ohio workers.’”

In Pennsylvania:

WPXI: Local Democrats hold own virtual rally called ‘Broken Promises’ as Trump visits Pittsburgh. “‘Four years into his presidency, families in southwestern PA. are used to Donald Trump repeatedly breaking his promises,’ said Democrat chair Nancy Patton Mills. Mills and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald were critical when it came to the Trump administration, especially when talking about manufacturing jobs in the region. ‘He even promised when he was elected that we wouldn’t lose a single plant, but workers at shuttered facilities like ATI in Midland know that it’s just downright false,’ said Fitzgerald.”

  • Tribune-Review: We need Joe Biden in the White House. “After nearly four years, he’s left our region far worse off than before. Today, he’s coming to Pittsburgh to try and sell us on more lies and empty promises. Here’s the truth of Trump’s economic record. When Trump was elected, the unemployment rate in Westmoreland County was around 5%. Today, after his chaotic response to the covid-19 pandemic and his penchant for playing favorites with the wealthy and well-connected, it’s well over 13%.”

  • Pennsylvania-Capital Star: “Ahead of that visit, the Democratic National Committee is launching a new digital ad targeting voters around western Pennsylvania. The spot takes Trump to task for his China trade policies and their impact on farmers … ‘When Trump comes back to Pittsburgh, he brings four years of lost jobs, skyrocketing unemployment, and broken promises with him,’ Democratic National Committee [Chair] Tom Perez said in a statement exclusively obtained by the Capital-Star.”

In Wisconsin:

Cap Times: Rep. Mark Pocan: Pompeo visit highlights the Trump administration’s disastrous record for Wisconsinites. “The fact is Trump’s foreign policy, particularly with China, has been a disaster for Wisconsinites. Soon after assuming the Oval Office, Trump engulfed us in multiple trade wars that completely eviscerated our manufacturing and agriculture community. Last year alone we lost thousands of factory jobs and saw a record number — 818 — dairy farms go out of business. Our crop producers felt the pain, too. Ginseng farmers, who grow 95% of all that grown in the United States, prior to the trade war, sold approximately 85% of their products to China.”

  • WDJT: “Democrats responded to the visit by slamming the Trump campaign on health care. Sen. Tammy Baldwin says Wisconsin would not have record positive COVID-19 cases this week had Trump focused more on the pandemic from the beginning. ‘He knew it was very serious, and then decided to downplay it,’ Baldwin said. ‘That is not being honest and straight with the American people.’”

FIRED UP, READY TO GO! As ballots are mailed and early voting begins, Democrats across the battlegrounds are educating and mobilizing voters in unprecedented numbers.

  • ABC News: Democrats lean on the late-Rep. John Lewis in new voter registration push. “Lewis, who was known as the ‘conscience of the U.S. Congress’ and died in July after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, is the centerpiece of a new digital ad released on Wednesday by the Democratic National Committee. It’s part of a seven-figure digital investment that is aimed at encouraging voter registration in the hopes of driving up turnout some 40 days before Election Day.”

  • (FL) South Florida Sun Sentinel: Election ‘Day’ begins in Florida with millions of ballots heading out to voter mailboxes. “So far, 56% of the 2020 mail ballot requests are from Democrats, 25% from Republicans and the rest from independent and minor party voters. That works out to about 700,000 more Democratic than Republican requests.”

  • (PA) The Hill: Democrats launch ad informing Pennsylvania voters on ‘naked ballots.’ “The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is launching a new digital ad in Pennsylvania walking voters through the vote-by-mail process amid concerns that a recent court ruling could result in thousands of so-called naked ballots being tossed out. The 30-second digital spot is part of a joint voter education campaign with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign in Pennsylvania, the state Democratic party and other groups. It instructs Pennsylvanians voting by mail to fill out a ballot and seal it inside a smaller secrecy envelope before enclosing it in a larger return envelope.”

  • (TX) Houston Chronicle: Texas shatters voter registration records again as Trump-Biden election draws closer. “Texas has once again shattered vote registration records, adding more than 1.5 million voters since the last presidential election … About one-third of the new voters since November 2018 come from three counties: Harris, Travis and Bexar — all deeply blue since 2016. That has Democrats convinced that they are adding to their base of support.”

  • (VA) The Washington Post: Early voting turnout hits record numbers in Virginia. “‘After the first few days of early voting, we’ve seen an unprecedented surge in enthusiasm with tens of thousands of Virginians going to the polls,’ Susan Swecker, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, said in a statement. ‘And the data we’ve seen shows that Democrats are the ones driving record early voting numbers, a clear sign that enthusiasm is on our side and that voters are tired of Trump’s broken promises and failures to keep Virginians safe during this pandemic.’”

THE STATE OF PLAY, 39 DAYS OUT. From suburbanites to seniors, Trump continues to drive away critical voters in the battlegrounds — and time is running out. Here are a few key trends from this week that are setting the stage for the final sprint to Election Day:

FINALLY, YOUR WEEKEND READING: 

  • Virginian-Pilot: Former U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye: Respect for military should be paramount. “A commander-in-chief must understand that it is our service members’ dedication, professionalism and character that makes America’s military so great … Trump’s attitude toward service has unfortunately undermined what has made our military the strongest in the world: our people. He set the tone early on by denigrating the heroic service of Sen. John McCain.”

  • Nevada Independent: Dreamer Sebastian Cardenas: Waking up in fear every day. “I live my life scared that Donald Trump will successfully overturn DACA and that I could be deported like my older brother was 10 years ago because he didn’t have the protections that I currently possess … I wake up every day knowing I could lose everything on a moment’s notice.”

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