A.G. Gancarski
In Jacksonville, Florida Gov. Rick Scott took questions from local media, including some on the interesting role of being a diehard Donald Trump supporter at a time when his administration careens from scandal to scandal, and Senate hearing to Senate hearing — with embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions taking the stand today.
We asked Scott, who just formed a “New Republican PAC” this year, straight up: are the issues with the Trump Administration, including today’s Sessions testimony, bad for the brand?
“I set up the Super PAC New Republican, and it’s focused on how do we rebrand the Republican Party. The Republican Party ought to be the party of open government, choice, bottom up economy, things like that,” Scott said.
“Younger voters should be voting Republican. We should target everybody, because they believe what we believe in. People want a job –“
Noticing that the answer veered off the original question, regarding Sessions and former FBI director James Comey‘s testimony last week, we redirected: are the issues with the Trump Administration interfering with the larger GOP brand?
“What I always talk about is all the success we’ve had in the state,” Scott said.
And that was it.
Gov. Scott clearly plays the long game — especially with a partner in the White House, as he likes to say.
Still, when given an opportunity to defend the Trump Administration in its time of need, he reverted to talking points — which invite the listener to read between the lines.
If Rick Scott can’t offer an affirmative defense of the Trump Administration right now, who can?
