Biden and Trump campaigns focusing on Florida but with different messages

President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden are focusing their campaigns on Florida this week, but with different messages.

“My sister died because this president lied. He lied to her, he lied to us, he lied to this country,” said Katrina Wilson, councilwoman for Miami Gardens.

The Biden-Harris campaign is putting the coronavirus front and center, leading local officials from across the state to chime in about their experiences with COVID-19.

“We need a president who’s not afraid to stand up and say ‘hey, it’s OK, and wear a mask. It’s the smart thing to do,'” said Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa Mckinlay.

She’s calling attention to the president’s rally in Sanford Monday evening and how it might not be safe. “It is reckless and irresponsible,” she said.

“What he wants to do is insist upon his own way, even if it costs people their life,” Wilson said.

They say the president has failed in his coronavirus response and continues to even after contracting the virus himself. “This president lied. Lied and misled. He said, ‘oh no! Those are not gunshots you hear, those are just firecrackers,’ and so you know what we did? We walked out into the line of fire and life was lost,” Wilson said.

So far, neither the White House nor the president’s personal doctor have publicly said he’s tested negative for the coronavirus.

Trump’s current campaign focus is the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. Her Senate confirmation hearings began Monday.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott was on the media call. “She wants to interpret the law, not make the law. And I think that’s exactly what the judiciary ought to be doing. They ought to understand that they’re not the legislative branch, they’re not the Executive Branch, and she clearly believes that,” Scott said.

Scott believes that Barrett will be in the position before the November election. “She’ll get out of judiciary next week, and then we’ll vote on the last week of October, so she’ll be confirmed before the election, which I think is important that we have all nine members before Election Day,” he said.

“I’m going to do everything I can to help make sure Judge Barrett gets confirmed before Election Day.”

Scott and many others believe the fate of the election very well could end up in the hands of the justices.

Scott also answered questions about government relief during the pandemic and stimulus checks. He said the Republicans are ready to pass a stimulus. Democrats, on the other hand, called the President’s latest plan “grossly insufficient.”