Tag: Florida

The Two States Where Trump’s COVID-19 Response Could Backfire in 2020

Voters in Michigan and Florida may be more likely than others to blame or credit him for how the outbreak unfolds.

A handful of swing states will almost certainly decide the winner of November’s presidential election. And in two of them, Michigan and Florida, Donald Trump’s complicated relationship with their governors could expose him to greater political risk as the economic and social price of the coronavirus pandemic mounts.

Trump faces mirror-image threats. Michigan voters could interpret Trump’s animosity toward Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer as punishing the state. By contrast, in Florida, Trump’s liability could be his close relationship with Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, which is seen by many as one reason DeSantis was slow to impose a statewide stay-at-home order.

In each place, voters may be even more likely than those in other states to blame or credit the president for how the outbreak unfolds there. And in both cases, Trump’s posture toward the states is now inextricably interwoven with the larger story of their struggle to contain the disease. Continue reading.

Florida got all the emergency medical supplies it requested while other states did not — here’s why

AlterNet logoOn March 11, Florida requested a cache of emergency supplies from the federal government to protect its medical workers against the novel coronavirus.

Three days later, the state got everything it wanted.

Other states had only tiny slivers of their requests fulfilled, including some that had asked for them earlier than Florida. Oregon and Oklahoma received only about 10%; New Jersey got less than 6%. Continue reading.

Nobody Waved Goodbye: Trump’s Relationship With New York Was Already Over

New York Times logoMr. Trump’s decision to shift his home base to Palm Beach also comes at a time when the president has been disengaged from daily operations at the Trump Organization.

The chorus of Bronx cheers from New York officials at the news that President Trump changed his primary residence to Florida was confirmation of what friends and advisers have said for months: Resuming his former life in Manhattan would be impossible.

But Mr. Trump’s decision to shift his home base to his resort in Palm Beach, which a person close to the president said was primarily to escape New York taxes, also comes at a time when the president has been disengaged from daily operations at the Trump Organization, which he once ran from Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

Mr. Trump turned over the family real estate company to his sons after his election and company executives say they doubt he will have a day-to-day management role in the business when he leaves the White House.

View the complete November 2 article by Maggie Haberman and Erick Lipton on The New York Times website here.

Decision to exempt Florida from offshore drilling prompts bipartisan uproar

The following article by David Weigel, Darryl Fears and John Wagner was posted on the Washington Post website January 10, 2018:

The governors of several coastal states reacted with alarm after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke granted Florida Governor Rick Scott a waiver on Jan. 9. (Reuters)

The Trump administration’s decision to exempt Florida from expanded offshore drilling kicked off a frenzy Wednesday in other coastal states, with governors from both political parties asking: Why not us?

“We cannot afford to take a chance with the beauty, the majesty and the economic value and vitality of our wonderful coastline,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R), who backed President Trump in his state’s competitive 2016 primary, said in a statement. Continue reading “Decision to exempt Florida from offshore drilling prompts bipartisan uproar”

Trump Administration Drops Florida From Offshore Drilling Plan

The following article by Hiroko Tabuchi was posted on the New York Times website January 9, 2019:

Gov. Rick Scott of Florida on Tuesday. “My top priority is to ensure that Florida’s natural resources are protected,” he said last week. Credit Hali Tauxe/Tallahassee Democrat, via Associated Press

The Trump administration said Tuesday it had ruled out drilling for oil and gas off the coast of Florida after strong opposition from the state’s Republican governor, Rick Scott.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke moved last week to allow new offshore oil and gas drilling in nearly all United States coastal waters, opening more than a billion acres in the Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico to potential leases. The decision prompted an outcry from Republican and Democratic governors alike on both coasts.

“I support the governor’s position that Florida is unique and its coasts are heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver,” Mr. Zinke said in a statement after meeting Governor Scott in Florida. “I am removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms.” Continue reading “Trump Administration Drops Florida From Offshore Drilling Plan”

Trump’s Katrina? Influx of Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria could tip Florida toward Democrats.

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website September 28, 2017:

Donald Trump hugs the United States flag during a campaign rally in Tampa, Fla., last year. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)

THE BIG IDEA: More than 50 million ballots were cast by Floridians in the seven presidential elections from 1992 through 2016. If you add them all up, only 18,000 votes separate the Republicans from the Democrats. That is 0.04 percent.

Florida is rightfully considered the swingiest of swing states.Control of the White House in 2000 came down to a few hundredhanging chads – and one vote on the Supreme Court. The past four statewide elections – two governor’s races and two presidentials – were all decided by a single percentage point. Continue reading “Trump’s Katrina? Influx of Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria could tip Florida toward Democrats.”

Florida’s education system — the one Betsy DeVos cites as a model — is in chaos

The following article by Valerie Strauss was posted on the Washington Post website July 22, 2017:

President Trump speaks to fourth-grade students as he tours St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando on March 3, with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, second from left, as well as White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, left, and Ivanka Trump. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

The K-12 education system in Florida — the one that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos likes to praise as a model for the nation — is in chaos.

Traditional public school districts are trying to absorb the loss of millions of dollars for the new school year that starts within weeks. That money, which comes from local property taxes, is used for capital funding but now must be shared with charter schools as a result of a widely criticized $419 million K-12 public education bill crafted by Republican legislative leaders in secret and recently signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott — at a Catholic school.

Critics, including some Republicans, say the law will harm traditional public schools, threaten services for students who live in poverty and curb local control of education while promoting charter schools and a state-funded voucher program. Continue reading “Florida’s education system — the one Betsy DeVos cites as a model — is in chaos”