Ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to Minneapolis and Duluth yesterday afternoon, DFL leaders spoke out about Trump’s failed leadership in a time of crisis. Speakers addressed the administration’s botched coronavirus response and the president’s lack of care and attention to the American people’s interests. The call featured key leaders including DFL Chair Ken Martin, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, Duluth Mayor Emily Larson, Duluth City Councilor Arik Forsman (At-Large), United Steelworkers Local 9460 President Deanna Hughes, and St. Mary’s nurse Chris Rubesch.
Excerpts from the call
DFL Party Chair Ken Martin: “There was one president on the debate stage last evening, and it wasn’t the person who flew in on Air Force One. Joe Biden demonstrated the leadership and the temperament that Americans around the country are looking for. Biden took the opportunity in the debate to speak directly to the American people. He spoke about families and how the crises facing our country are impacting them. He talked about the empty chairs at kitchen tables from family members who were lost to COVID-19. He talked about families struggling to get by because of the jobs moved overseas under his watch, under Trump’s watch. And most disturbingly, when Trump had the chance to disown white supremacy, he refused. And frighteningly, he didn’t just refuse. It called them to action.
“Even during this pandemic, as we all know, he’s still trying to repeal health care for millions, including protections for as many as four in 10 Americans with pre-existing conditions, all at the same time trying to ram through an anti-ACA Supreme Court nominee. So Minnesotans deserve a leader like Joe Biden, who would fight for working families, expand health coverage, and build an economy that works for everyone.”
Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan: “[Trump] called folks who passed away — over 200,000 folks in this country — ‘nobody’s’ and my brother Ron wasn’t a nobody. He was a somebody and everybody who lost someone, they were somebody’s, somebody. And so just the refusal to acknowledge that was, was deeply painful for me, and I know for many others across the country who are looking at that empty chair at the table. And really, his refusal to commit to an independent ruling on the results of the election were just incredibly, was incredibly alarming. And I don’t think we’ve ever witnessed anything quite like that. I will also just say his use of the term, his use of the word Pocahontas… dismissing the memory, frankly, of the real Pocahontas, but also that is why I knew that I couldn’t watch the debate with my seven-year-old daughter, because she would, you know, ultimately be faced with the kind of racism that comes directly from the President’s mouth. A seven-year-old little Anishinaabeg girl should not have to hear that, no one should have to hear that from the President of the United States.”
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