A.G. Gancarski
Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of the Democratic presidential nominee, made a virtual visit to the Tampa area Wednesday, spotlighting the Joe Biden/ Kamala Harris ticket’s commitment to education.
Biden appeared, via teleconference, at Pasco-Hernando State College. The appearance in a public speaking class was a part guest lecture, part stump speech, with friendly questions and no sharp edges.
Moderated questions came after laudatory intros to the “meaningful dialogue” by Professor Dr. Davina Jones and Provost Kevin O’Farrell.
Jones stressed that she brings in speakers from “different viewpoints” to “help students decide how to live their lives” and “what issues are important to them.”
Despite that caveat, much of the event saw Biden electioneering.
Biden, a community college professor by trade, waxed poetic about “the laughter and the tiny moments of surprise you find” in teaching, which she described as a “calling.”
However, “those feelings of excitement have really turned to anxiety,” with classrooms “full of unknowns.”
The former Second Lady lauded community college students as “some of the hardest working people around … the best of this nation.”
“We just need leadership worthy of our nation, worthy of all of you,” she said.
Biden said the country needed “steady leadership.”
“My message to anyone who is ambivalent about voting,” Biden said, is “your future depends on it.”
“We’ve never seen the stakes in such tangible terms before,” Biden said. “We’re in an out of control pandemic, an unstable economy, it didn’t have to be this way … (with) racism … and violence in the streets.”
“How many of your relatives are risking their health working on the front lines? It did not have to be this way,” Biden told the students. “We are living in the chaos of Donald Trump’s America.”
“If you want change in your life,” Biden said, “then you have to vote. It’s crucial.”
There was no opportunity for press to ask questions at the end of the engagement.
The location, firmly ensconced in the swingy and voter-rich I-4 Corridor, was no accident.
This is her first of two Florida stops. She will also be in Jacksonville during her “back to school” tour, and will visit other battleground states, including Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Trump campaign offered a statement in the wake of the event.
“While President Trump and his Administration are working to provide critical funding, resources, and guidelines to keep Florida’s children in school, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want to hold Floridians hostage by keeping our schools and economy closed, as part of their desperate attempt to win in November. Floridians cannot be fooled,” said Trump Victory Spokesperson Emma Vaughn.
2 comments
Nicki Wood
September 2, 2020 at 2:05 pm
Stop with the infomercials!!!!!! Live Debates in person both candidates. I want a Leader who can THINK ON HIS FEET without edit & practiced!!!!!
You can do better
September 4, 2020 at 6:52 pm
I am confused by your sudden lack of reporting integrity and just posting these blank election love letters. Where is the questioning of campaigns accessing tax payer funded education to sway our youth? If it were GOP doing this people would be screaming bloody murder. Dems decry any violation of customs and norms except when they’re the ones doing and benefiting. I find this campaign tack just as troubling as any other using youth as pawns, from either party, with tax payer dollars. Try a little critical thinking in your reporting, AG. This is getting tedious and you can do better.
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