RECAP: Pence and Trump’s Broken Promises Are Not Welcome in FL

This week, Mike Pence was met with a barrage of backlash ahead of his trip to Florida. The Florida Democratic Party executed a week-long campaign to hold Pence accountable for hawking Trump’s broken promises to Floridians, especially to Florida’s Latino community. Take a look:

Orlando Sentinel: Vice President Mike Pence will be greeted in Kissimmee by a billboard slamming President Donald Trump over his response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The Florida Democratic Party unveiled the billboard Monday along Florida’s Turnpike in advance of Pence’s Thursday visit as part of a “Latinos for Trump” event at the Nación de Fe church. It will stay up until the end of the week.

Florida Politics: “Never Forget” is the message the Florida Democratic Party wants to impart to Central Florida Puerto Ricans in advance of Vice President Mike Pence‘s rally Thursday evening in Kissimmee. By “Never Forget,” the Democrats are referring to the federal response and President Donald Trump‘s statements and actions following the devastation of the island by Hurricane Maria in 2017. The widespread belief that the federal response was slow and inadequate was symbolized by Trump’s Oct. 3, 2017, photo-op choice of tossing rolls of paper towels into a crowd desperate for food, water, shelter, medical care, electricity, and roads. The Florida Democratic Party has put up a billboard on one of the main routes from Orlando into Kissimmee, showing Trump making the paper towel toss with the words “PROHIBIDO OLVIDAR…” — translated to “never forget” in English — printed at the top. The billboard goes up Monday and will be up through Sunday. It is located on the Florida Turnpike Southbound, before the Orange Blossom Trail exit.

Newsweek: Democrats in Florida have unveiled a billboard reminding the local Hispanic and Latino community of the moment President Donald Trump threw paper towels into a crowd of Puerto Ricans awaiting aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria. The billboard, which is on display in Kissimmee, was put up by the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) to coincide with Vice President’s Mike Pence visit to the city to speak at a “Latinos for Trump” event on January 16. “When the Americans in Puerto Rico needed President Trump the most, he threw paper towels at them instead of releasing federal emergency funds,” said FDP Executive Director Juan Peñalosa.

NYT via Associated Press: Ahead of Vice President Mike Pence’s Latinos for Trump rally in central Florida, state Democrats have paid for a billboard showing an image of the president tossing paper towels at a Puerto Rican church after the island was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The Florida Democratic Party unveiled the billboard Monday in Kissimmee, a city outside Orlando with a large Puerto Rican population, including many who came to central Florida after the 2017 hurricane.

El Nuevo Dia (Puerto Rico): A horas de la visita del vicepresidente de Estados Unidos, Mike Pence, a la ciudad de Kissimmee, líderes demócratas hispanos le recordaron a los electores latinos, principalmente a los puertorriqueños, que los republicanos han incumplido sus promesas, que han tratado mal a la Isla y, con todo y ello, buscarán ganarse sus votos de cara a las próximas elecciones.

NYT via Associated Press: On Wednesday, local Democrats criticized the GOP’s record with Hispanics. The mayor of Kissimmee spoke at a news conference held by the Florida Democratic Party at a podium in front of signs that read “Incompetent President” in Spanish. “We know why the vice president is here in Kissimmee,” said Mayor Jose Alvarez. “He is here to confuse us, to try to take our vote, because they need it. And we need to stand up, and we need to teach them a lesson that they are not going to take our vote.”

More TV coverage of our bracketing efforts in FL ahead of Pence’s visit: WFTV ABC 9, WOFL FOX 13, and WESH NBC 2.