James Call, Tallahassee Democrat
Thursday night in Montana President Donald J. Trump predicted Andrew Gillum as Florida governor would be a disaster for “one of a the most successful states in our union.”
Gillum responded with a tweet in which he questioned the president’s courage and used the incident in a campaign fundraising letter to supporters.
At a campaign style rally in Billings, Montana, Trump went after Democrats in general, saying they want to turn the U.S. into Venezuela and then turned to the Florida governor race. He attacked Gillum’s comments on federal immigration and health care policies.
“In Florida, the Democratic nominee for governor, wants to abolish ICE and release hundreds of criminals onto our streets,” said Trump. “He also wants to take care of their Medicare and every other thing that you can take care of. You name it. He wants to take care of it. And Florida will be a disaster.”
Medicare is a federal program that provides health care to senior citizens. Gillum had endorsed a bill sponsored by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Congress that would provide Medicare to all citizens.
The Tallahassee mayor has criticized the direction the Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency has taken under the Trump administration and called for the agency to be replaced.
Gillum responded to the Trump attack on Twitter. He didn't engage the President on federal policy but commented that Trump's rambling remarks featured scare tactics.
The Tallahassee mayor was among those Trump criticized that included Democrats in Congress, California Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland.
In his response, Gillum wondered why Trump failed to mention his name.
“Heard @realDonaldTrump went after me again tonight — in Montana — but still didn't have the courage to @ me by name,” Gillum tweeted. “Mr. President, my name is Andrew Gillum and I'm going to be the next Governor of Florida because lies and scare tactics don't vote, people do.”
The president concluded his remarks on the Florida race with an endorsement of Republican candidate Ron DeSantis.
Friday morning, the Gillum campaign sent an e-mail blast to supporters about the Trump Billings’ attack.
“Last night at a rally in Montana, President Trump falsely attacked our campaign with lies and scare tactics,” stated the message. It requested a $5 donation to continue a fight against what the Gillum campaign called an “ugly brand of politics.”