JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. But Florida remains the biggest prize among swing states, and the president will be back in the Sunshine State on Friday.
On Tuesday, his campaign responded to the visit to Jacksonville by Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate.
News4Jax’s one-on-one interview with Harris on Monday caught the eye of the president’s campaign, which asked for a chance to respond and address some of the same issues.
Lara Trump, senior campaign advisor on her father-in-law’s run for reelection, was in Jacksonville herself on Sept. 16. She was the keynote speaker on the Women for Trump bus tour, alongside former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
On Tuesday, spoke with News4Jax by Zoom from Las Vegas, where she was campaigning. She said that like Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Harris, Republicans are calling on people to vote early.
“We’ve seen really, in terms of Republicans, we’ve seen a record in many states in early vote turnout, in mail-in, you know, ballot turnout, as well, so we feel very positive,” Lara Trump said. "Republicans, as most people probably know, like to vote in person, and oftentimes they like to wait until Election Day, but we say, listen, go in, get your vote recorded. You never know what could happen between now and Election Day. If you have an opportunity to vote, go do it now. Don’t wait till later.″
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The biggest topic of the week has become Thursday night’s scheduled debate between the president and Biden, with the president objecting to last-minute changes. Lara Trump called the Commission on Presidential Debates biased.
“It’s very disappointing, I think, to the campaign to see the way that the debate commission has really gone back on what they originally told us,” she said.
“It’s very troublesome, but I think the problem is that, again, we are not hearing the lies of Joe Biden being called out by the moderator, so it is up to President Trump to do that, and whenever you’re muted, you know, he’s not going to have a chance to do that. I think everyone who watched knew that Donald Trump was much stronger than Joe Biden in that first debate, so it seems, sadly, like they’re trying to keep him quiet and tried to prevent him from really getting all the necessary information to the American people.”
After speaking with voters at a car rally Monday at the University of North Florida, Harris said during News4Jax’s exclusive interview with her that the Biden tax plan will not raise taxes on people making less than $400,000.
Lara Trump said the Biden-Harris tax plan really will raise taxes on everyone -- not just the rich.
“Well, if you just take her at her word when they say they’re going to repeal the Trump tax cuts that went to benefit most of Americans -- the average American saw around $2,000-plus back in their bank accounts, thanks to the president’s tax cuts and jobs act -- and if they’re saying that they’re going to repeal that, that will affect every single person in America," Lara Trump said.
Lara Trump also explained more of the campaign’s complaints about the debate, saying they pushed for four debates, but will now end up with only two.