Florida’s Panhandle is deep red. Donald Trump carried the vast majority of counties there in 2016 and the Team Trump caravan is on the road with a swing across northern Florida looking for a repeat.
Team Trump pulled into a small strip shopping mall minutes after volunteers lined the sidewalk with Black Voices for Trump signs. On the bus, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump’s former campaign manager Cory Lewandowski.
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“So, do we have work to do. You bet we do,” Lewandowski said. “Did he create the greatest economy that the world has ever seen? Shutting it down to deal with the coronavirus pandemic? The answer is yes and he’s the only one who can bring our economy back.”
Bondi said that rioting around Black Lives Matter raised safety concerns among African Americans.
“People want their kids safe,” Bondi said.
She said black voters are turning to Trump in greater numbers.
“We can’t defund the police, and that’s what Joe Biden says he wants -- to redirect funds -- and that’s defending the police,” Bondi said.
In a small office packed with volunteers, Bondi pushed mail voting, drawing a distinction between Florida's method and other states.
“Mass mailing, of course, happens in other states, but that’s what we’ve gotta let people know here in Florida that absentee voting is a great thing. It’s safe,” said Bondi.
Musician Michael Collins performed a song he said he wrote after losing his job at an African-American church because he supports Trump.
“My church is 90%, 95% Democratic,” Collins said.
Four years ago, the Panhandle accounted for half the president’s victory margin in Florida. The campaign expects even bigger results this time.
In a release, Florida Democrats accused the bus tour of “recklessly endangering public safety” during the pandemic.
Florida Democrats also said in that statement that the bus tour was being used to distract people from the president’s handling of the pandemic.