Ivanka Trump touts economy, rebukes socialism at rally
With a week to go until Election Day Donald Trump’s children and surrogates are making a final swing through Florida, where latest polling shows a quintessentially Floridian razor-thin margin between Trump and his challenger, former vice president Joe Biden.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser, used her father’s rhetoric to rebuke socialism and tout a strong economy at the Bayfront Park Amphitheater in downtown Miami. Ivanka Trump was fresh off a daytime appearance in Sarasota earlier Tuesday. Last week, she had another Florida double feature, with appearances in Fort Myers and Naples.
Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders introduced Ivanka Trump after campaign adviser Mercedes Schlapp greeted the crowd. Sanders told the crowd that this year’s election is an election to fight socialism.
“I know there are some people here who know what that looks like, we want to make sure that never happens here,” Sanders said.
The 30-minute speech was a departure from Trump’s Sarasota remarks, which largely focused on turning out the female vote instead of speaking to exiles from countries with communist regimes.
She reminded the crowd that Trump’s administration took a different approach to Obama-era policies on Cuba and placed sanctions on Venezuelan lawmakers who participated in an attempt to regain control of their parliament, orchestrated by Nicolás Maduro.
“Today I bring a message from my father: America will never be a socialist country,” Ivanka Trump said to a modest crowd of around 800. “America will always be the land of the free.”
The message around socialism has rallied Trump’s Hispanic voters since the early days of the re-election campaign and have not let up in Florida. Earlier this month, Donald Trump Jr. brought the president’s campaign back to Miami for a “Fighters Against Socialism” bus tour. Joined by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal, and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump Jr. railed against Biden and cast an image of Democrats as radical leftists who cannot stand against regimes in Venezuela, Cuba and China.
Ivanka Trump did not address Tuesday’s headlines about her husband, Jared Kushner, who in an interview with “Fox & Friends” seemed to question whether Black Amer
icans “want to be successful” after all he said Trump has done for their communities.
She did, however, tout other accomplishments her father has made in office, primarily economic growth, prescription drug cost-cutting programs and the signing of the “Abraham Accords,” a pair of diplomatic pacts with Israel brokered by the United States. She also mentioned Trump’s push to move the United States embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“I was in the office and heard foreign leaders and begged him not to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem,” she said. “Yet he delivered a promise also made that unfulfilled by so many past presidents because my father knew it was the right thing to do.”
She also compared her father to Biden on their stances toward charter schools, noting that father supports expanding school choice. Before the event, Trump made a surprise stop at a charter school in Little Havana, the heart of Miami’s Cuban exile community. She met with middle school students at SLAM Academy Miami, a charter school opened by worldwide rapper Pitbull last year.
“We as a society have a duty to ensure that every child has the best chance to pursue their dreams, find their purpose and change the world,” Ivanka Trump said. “Joe Biden opposes school choice. And he’s pledged that if elected, charter schools will be, and I quote, ‘gone.’ ”
Toward the end of her speech, she asked the crowd to stand in support of law enforcement. The crowd all jumped to their feet and cheered, “Back the blue.”
After the event Ivanka Trump headed to Miami’s Versailles Cuban restaurant for the time-honored tradition of a campaign-stop cafecito. She was joined by Sanders and Versailles owner, Felipe Valls Jr. A small crowd of about 25 surprised customers formed outside, taking photos and videos on their cell phones and calling out to the first daughter.
Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Pérez, is registered to vote in Miami-Dade County as a noparty affiliate, according to county records. He received a mail ballot last week but has not yet returned it.
The first group of students she met were part of the school’s Tech Team, a program where students help other students with technical support. The students showed Trump a glass sphere programmed to move by using a cell phone or tablet.
She also met with the school’s nationally recognized dance team, the Sirens, and the student radio station. The dancers performed a hip-hop dance routine for Trump, who dodged a near-collision with a cartwheeling student.
President Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was also in Florida Tuesday, where she stumped for Trump in Panama City Beach and Cocoa. On Wednesday, Donald Trump Jr. will rally voters in Jacksonville, Daytona Beach and Vero Beach.
Biden will campaign in Broward County and Tampa on Thursday.