Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
BREAKING: Joe Biden chose California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate Tuesday afternoon. Harris and Biden will deliver remarks Wednesday in Wilmington.
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Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is the least funny knock-knock joke ever, according to a new ad from Protect Our Care.
The digital ad opens with a knock at the door. And then another, louder one.
“It’s the Trump campaign and they’re spreading more than just campaign pamphlets. President Trump and his supporters have mocked safety protocols like wearing masks and social distancing,” a narrator says.
The ad flips through videos and images of Trump supporters campaigning. One of the stills features a maskless Rep. Anthony Sabatini and Sen. Joe Gruters driving a golf cart with adorned with Trump 2020 swag.
“Now, they’re going door to door all across the country — to your community — in the middle of a pandemic that has already killed 160,000 Americans and spreads by person-to-person contact.”
Protect Our Care’s ad comes as Trump’s campaign starts ramping up its canvassing effort. The group is targeting it at voters in states where Republican Governors have refused to issue a statewide mask mandate — Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and Iowa.
“There’s a safe way for political campaigns and other organizations to canvass during a global pandemic,” said Zac Petkanas, Director of Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room. “However, voters should have no confidence that the President’s reelection campaign is taking any of the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus after Trump spent months downplaying the danger, ignoring expert recommendations, mocking the need to wear face masks and flouting social distancing best practices.
“Every day we see another example of the President’s hard-core supporters proudly spreading the virus by refusing to wear masks in public places. Now, we’re supposed to just trust them when they come knocking at our doors? I don’t think so.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 536,981 FL residents (+5,764 since Monday)
— 5,811 Non-FL residents (+67 since Monday)
Origin:
— 4,063 Travel related
— 160,441 Contact with a confirmed case
— 4,185 Both
— 368,292 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 31,354 in FL
Deaths:
— 8,685 in FL
Evening Reads
“Kamala Harris named as Joe Biden’s running mate” via Amanda Erickson of The Washington Post
“Harris is Biden’s VP pick — Here’s what it means for the election and beyond” via Perry Bacon Jr. of FiveThirtyEight
“Donald Trump’s campaign seeks to define ‘phony’ Harris” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“What Harris thinks about Florida issues: Cuba, disaster funding and the AIDS epidemic” via Steve Contorno of the Tampa Bay Times
“‘A Smoking Gun’: Infectious coronavirus retrieved from hospital air” via of the New York Times
“New record COVID-19 death toll after week of decline” via the staff of Florida Politics
“First Coast exceeds 300 COVID-19 deaths, breaks 33,000 cases” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics
“South Florida posts sixth-highest daily COVID-19 death toll, reversing days-long trend” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“State yanks liquor licenses from 4 bars over social distancing” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics
“FL seniors fear Trump’s payroll-tax cut could threaten Social Security” via Laura Cassels of the Florida Phoenix
“First Power Five dominoes fall as Big Ten, Pac-12 pull plug on fall season” via Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated
“Ron DeSantis: Plans to delay college football season are ‘misplaced’” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“ACC (Miami, FSU) and SEC (UF) forging ahead despite no football for Big Ten and Pac-12” via Susan Miller Degnan of the Miami Herald
“DeSantis squelches talk of a White House run” via Gary Fineout of POLITICO Florida
“Agencies told to look at ways to cut budgets” via Christine Sexton of the News Service of Florida
“Tom Fabricio drops $21K in spending surge, still holds cash lead in HD 103 GOP primary” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics
“Court rules against NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer an email case” via Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida
Quote of the Day
“Let’s be clear. (If) you don’t have sports, it ain’t like there’s not going to be activities going on with college students. In fact, it will be unsupervised, it will be unstructured. Just from a corona perspective, you would want the kids, I think, in the athletic program.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, on the effects of canceling the college football season
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