Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
A father of Stoneman Douglas victim speaking at Democratic convention
Another will speak at Republican convention
Andrew Pollack and Fred Guttenberg, the fathers of daughters who were killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre who have widely divergent views about the direction the nation should head, will appear at the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime was one of 17 people killed in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre, is appearing Tuesday night at the Democratic convention, Joe Biden’s campaign said.
Guttenberg, who has been a strong Biden supporter, will speak during the roll call that culminates with the former vice president formally receiving his party’s presidential nomination. Guttenberg will talk about Biden before announcing Florida’s convention votes.
Guttenberg has spoken in the past about Biden reaching out to him after his daughter was killed. Since the massacre, he’s become an outspoken advocate against gun violence, has campaigned for Democrats, and been a vocal critic of Trump.
At the opening of a Biden campaign office in Fort Lauderdale in March — one of the last political events before campaigns stopped in person events as the coronavirus was spreading — Guttenberg praised Biden’s humanity, civility and decency, “things this country has gone without the last few years. The second we say ‘President-elect Biden,’ everybody will take a deep breath and know we’re going to be OK.”
Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed in the massacre, will have a speaking role at the Republican National Convention next week, where Trump will be nominated for a second term.
The Trump campaign, which confirmed via email that Pollack would be speaking, didn’t immediately provide other details. The convention is next week, with a format during the coronavirus pandemic that hasn’t been fully outlined by the Republican Party.
Pollack is an outspoken supporter of the president.
He was part of a group of parents of murdered children invited to the White House for a discussion shortly after the Stoneman Douglas massacre.
In December 2018, months after his daughter was killed, Pollack was featured speaker at the
White House Hanukkah celebration.
“Mr. President, despite the pundits and so-called experts who said you couldn’t, you have retaken Washington for the American people,” Pollack said. “You are the greatest friend that the Jewish people have ever had in the White House.” He also called Trump a “fighter.”
And Trump said the menorah was being lit in memory of Meadow Pollack and the others who were killed in the massacre.
Pollack is on the right side of the political spectrum. He supported and campaigned for Rick Scott in 2018. He was then the governor and ran successfully for U.S. Senate. He also supported Scott’s successor, Gov. Ron DeSantis.
A few weeks before Election Day in 2018, the Scott campaign released an ad entitled “Meadow,” that featured a testimonial from Pollack.
The parents of Stoneman Douglas victims have been united in their condemnation of school district and sheriff’s office failures leading up to the massacre and on their demands for accountability. Though they’ve been brought together by losing loved ones, they’re politically a divergent group.
Pollack and Guttenberg regularly share their thoughts about Biden and Trump on Twitter.
Pollack recently called Trump “the PEACE President.” and said “Joe is not all there.” He also referred to the Democratic nominee as a “Lying sack of turd.”
On Monday, Guttenberg said on Twitter that “Trump is a liar.”