Great
report here from CNN (via MSN
News) with this Trump deflection
headline (my notes to fit the blog):
“As coronavirus cases hit daily record,
Donald Trump tries to reframe race about oil”
The U.S. has now recorded the highest single day of new coronavirus cases
since the pandemic began. What does Trump say or do? Deflect and distract from
the pandemic’s deadly toll to talking about oil vis-à-vis Biden's comment during the last debate that America should
shift its reliance on oil toward greater renewable energy use (by 2050 if at
all possible).
This fresh dispute over
energy (oil primarily) has now given Trump a chance to shift the campaign away
from his mishandling of a pandemic that's killed nearly 224,000 Americans and
argue that Biden's remarks could cost him five or six states on Election Day.
Trump's attacks on Biden's stance on energy and the climate
crisis come at a time when the former vice president is heading to the
all-important state of Pennsylvania, which Trump won in 2016, that could serve
as the lynchpin to who wins the election in 2020.
As they battle over Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes, Trump
has been pummeling Biden for shifting his position on fracking, which is
central to the commonwealth's economy. Biden has made confusing statements about fracking during the course
of the 2020 campaign, but he has not proposed a full ban on fracking, as Trump claims.
During his two rallies in Florida on Friday, Trump
highlighted Biden's assertion that he “would transition from the oil industry,
yes” to help address the climate crisis by increasing reliance on renewable
energy.
Pressed by reporters after
the debate, Biden clarified that he was referring to ending federal subsidies
for oil, saying: “Eventually we're going to have to go to oil, but we're not
getting rid of fossil fuels. We're getting rid of the subsidies for fossil
fuels, but we're not getting rid of fossil fuels for a long time – but it will
not be gone until probably 2050.”
But in true Trump fashion, he eliminated any nuance in
Biden's position when he arrived in Florida on Friday (October 23 – one day
after the last debate), telling a crowd
of seniors at the sprawling retirement community known as “The Villages” that
Biden: “Wants to abolish the oil
industry.”
The President claimed that was the big whoa of the debate in
Nashville, and he once again cited states he said would be affected, saying: “Texas are you watching? Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Ohio, are you watching?”
Trump said later at
an evening rally in Pensacola telling a crowd: “I think he should have lost five or six states with that one.”
Trump told the crowd they should be concerned about a
potential rise in their gas prices under a Biden presidency, then he stretched Biden's
comments to the realm of the ridiculous, when back in “The Villages” he said Biden's transition to greater
reliance on renewable energy would mean that seniors: “Would have no air conditioning during the summer, no heat during the
winter and no electricity during peak hours.” Then he topped that off saying Biden's plans would include “Getting rid of airplanes.”
Trump’s scare tactics on
energy were part of his broader argument that the election is a choice between
a “Trump super recovery and a Biden depression.”
The Trump campaign quickly
tied Biden's debate comments about oil to the shifts in his position on
fracking in a new ad that they are airing in Pennsylvania, which falsely claims
the former vice president “will end fracking” and is willing to sacrifice blue
collar jobs to do so.
Biden held a lead in Pennsylvania – 53% to 43% among likely
voters – but neither candidate led in Florida, according to CNN polls released this week. After early voting in
person in FL on Saturday, Trump again tried to cast doubt on mail-in voting,
saying his chosen method was “much more secure” – an assessment with which
experts have disagreed.
My 2 cents: This whole
saga is pitiful yet SOP for Trump who always ducks, dodges, deflects, distracts,
and denies about not only his own remarks and tons of lies (now documented to
be more than 25,000) to any facts or truth others may have said or say. That is
his style – plain and simple. This oil vs. the deadly pandemic, which he almost
totally ignores in reality illustrates what I mean.
As far as any “October
surprise, this is not it.”
But, rushing the Amy Coney
Barrett Supreme Court confirmation the way Mitch McConnell has now to the full
senate for vote expected on Monday, October 26 is both historical and horrible.
This nomination and process is the biggest and most-pitiful in modern history on many levels.
Trump needs her on the court for possibly three huge votes: (1) Overturn Roe v. Wade (1973); (2) Kill the Act (Obama-care) (2010), and (3) if needed (his big wish) to save him if this vote ends up in the high court just like the 2000 Bush v. Gore case that gave the win to Bush via the Electoral College Vote despite Gore winning the popular vote by ½ million. That Gore loss that way was the first since 1888 when Grover Cleveland won.
And, of course that is how
Trump won in 2016 over Hillary Clinton by early 3 million votes. So, here we
possibly are going again and Trump sure hopes so – just look at the grim
picture he has painted for months about this election being rigged and fixes
against him.
So, hang on very, very tight – it might get very nasty and ugly and yes, even bloody. Hate to sound so gloomy – but that is how Trump operates – stated by own words and actions – not mine.
Thanks for stopping by.
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