STATEMENT: Florida Democratic Party Chair on Donald Trump’s Upcoming Florida Visit

Yesterday, it was announced that Donald Trump will travel to Florida to attend the SpaceX launch. In response, Florida Democratic Party chair Terrie Rizzo released the following statement:

“While we celebrate the SpaceX launch and are grateful it’s taking place in our state, let’s be clear that Donald Trump is not coming to Florida because the success of this mission depends on the president’s presence — he’s coming to campaign in the largest battleground state in the country. Instead of working on his re-election campaign, a better use of this president’s time would be developing a national testing strategy so we can actually contain the virus and get people back to work. Unfortunately, it seems the president is more interested in talking about reopening our economy than taking the steps to make it happen.

“The irony is also not lost on me that Trump, who has shown a consistent disregard for science, is coming to Florida to celebrate a great scientific and technological achievement. From peddling unproven drugs to postulating about the efficacy of drinking bleach to questioning the need for COVID-19 tests, Trump has repeatedly spread dangerous misinformation for political gain.

“America has 4% of the world’s population, but roughly 30% of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide. There is no excuse for why one of the richest, most advanced countries on earth wasn’t better prepared to deal with a crisis our president was repeatedly warned about before it spread on U.S. soil. This tragedy happened on Trump’s watch and he must be held accountable every day from now until November 3rd, when we replace him with Joe Biden, a leader capable of handling crises.”