‘Florida is facing one of the easiest choices I have ever seen in politics.’
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Amid polls that show races in the Sunshine State to be more competitive than they have been in years, Vice President JD Vance is making the case that Florida should stay red in an election cycle that could challenge the paradigm.
During a rally in Lakeland, Vance praised Republicans up and down the ticket and pilloried “the fake news,” remarks that met with frequent ovations from the faithful and a brief interlude from a protester he called a “Democrat plant,” who was removed amid “USA” chants.
Vance lauded U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody for “fighting for food transparency” and “fighting to make sure Florida gets the aid it deserves after a bad storm.”
Vance called gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds an “amazing warrior” for Florida “who fights for you every single day,” before telling a story of a Florida woman with some interesting praise for Vance and Donalds at the Republican Party’s Midterm Convention in Dallas.
“She says, ‘You know, what I love about you is both of you are really, really big, strong guys.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, she’s just making my night.’ Big, strong guys — Byron Donalds and JD Vance,” Vance recalled.
“She says, ‘You know, you’re both so handsome. I love your beards.’ I go, ‘All right, this is my favorite woman in the entire world.’ But … she’s been drinking a little bit and she says, ‘Are you guys related?’ And I say — and this is, maybe I’ve been in politics too long, ladies and gentlemen — without skipping a beat, I said, ‘Yes, he’s my second cousin.’”
Another heckler was then removed in similar circumstances to the first.
“What that woman is yelling is she wants left-wing bureaucrats in control of your schools,” Vance said.
Vance then made the case that Moody and Donalds were integral to the Donald Trump administration’s agenda.
“What Ashley and Byron want is not complicated. It’s simple, and it used to be — even 20 or 30 years ago — it was bipartisan. It was simple. They want good jobs for Floridians, they want happy families, they want safe streets, and they want healthy food for you and for your children. It’s the same thing that President Trump and I want. It’s the same thing we fight for, nationwide, every single day in our administration.”
Vance also called Democratic Senatorial candidate Angie Nixon a “self-professed socialist who somehow owns two homes,” before urging her to self-deport.
“When Angie Nixon calls herself a socialist, I think the right response is to say, then get the hell out of here. You don’t belong in America, if those are your beliefs.”
Regarding Democrat David Jolly, Vance called him a “fraud” and a cable news “pundit” who never had a “real job” and should be “sent back to his podcast with all of 19 listeners.”
“He flips and he flops with the wind,” Vance said. “He’s desperate to rule over you.”
Ahead of his remarks, other candidates spoke as well, including statewide hopefuls.
Donalds lauded Gov. Ron DeSantis, who missed the rally because he was at the launch for Carnegie Mellon University’s Miami campus.
Donalds took issue with Jolly’s advocacy for gun control, transgender rights, and relocation to Pennsylvania during the pandemic.
“This campaign is not just about defending our future, which is right here on the marquee. This is about defending the Florida dream. We are going to protect the beauty of our state. We are going to protect the freedoms of our state. We are going to protect the children of our state because that is how we remain No. 1.”
Moody said Nixon “wants to destroy the framework on which this country was built … wants to attack the very Constitution on which this country was built.”
She also summed up the Florida Republican agenda under the Joe Biden administration as “Don’t ‘F’ with Florida.” She soon enough clarified that the “F” was for “fool,” rather than something else.
Addressing the current election, Moody called Florida the “firewall for freedom” and a bulwark against socialist radicals.
In addition to the top of the ticket, people running for Congress made remarks, including U.S. Reps. Scott Franklin and Anna Paulina Luna, and candidates Mike Beltran and Sydney Gruters.
Democrats had their say ahead of the event.
Trump and Vance “have made life unaffordable for working families, and in nearly one month, voters are going to hold Republicans accountable,” read a statement from the Democratic National Committee.
“There is an enthusiasm gap with the Republicans. They are frustrated and angry. They are angry at the corruption coming out of D.C., and they are angry at the corruption coming out of Tallahassee,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said during a media availability on Thursday.
Vance’s appearance is just the first from the White House this cycle. Trump is also set to rally Republicans ahead of the election.
The President announced his plans in the wake of reporting that Donalds had downplayed the Trump endorsement that carried him through the Primary. While that was a boost in August, many observers see it as a drag in November, where Democrats and independent voters have their say.
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