Today, the Michigan Democratic Party held a press conference outside Mike Pence’s Grand Rapids rally. At the press conference, State Representative Rachel Hood, small business owner Tami Vandenberg, and Kent County Democratic Party Precinct Organizing Chair Kim Gates blasted Donald Trump and Mike Pence for the economic crisis caused by their failed COVID-19 response and their refusal to extend further stimulus to workers and small businesses. They also encouraged Michiganders to vote early and in-person for Democrats up and down the ballot.
“We know Donald Trump lied to us about this pandemic. And we know he’s refused to take it seriously,” said State Representative Rachel Hood. “We know he attacked Governor Whitmer for taking basic steps to help us save lives and has continued to tweet demands instead of showing real leadership. Bottom line is: this president has no plan to fix this pandemic. And because of that, our economy cannot be fully restored. Month after month, hundreds of thousands file for unemployment in our state. Small business owners are struggling to stay open. Now, we’re standing outside an event that will make this pandemic work and further set our economy back. It didn’t have to be this bad, but Donald Trump failed. He lied about this virus, he refused to take it seriously, and now has tanked our economy.”
“We shut down our business in March, and while PPP was a bridge, here we are in October with no idea if we’ll receive more assistance,” said small business owner Tami Vandenberg. “It is an impossible situation to make decisions. When I look back to when the president knew about the virus, I think how I would have run my businesses had I known. I didn’t have the opportunity to do that because the president did not give us the information we deserve. This mismanagement has been devastating. Because of that, I’m supporting Joe Biden, Gary Peters, Hillary Scholten, and Democrats up and down the ballot— because they have a strategy and a plan to address this public health crisis.”
“I can tell you people in Kent County are fired up and ready to send a message to this president,” said Kent County Democratic Party Precinct Organizing Chair Kim Gates. “They see a president who, at a time when our country needed leadership the most, let us down. Kent county wants to send a message to Donald Trump, and we know how to do that— vote, vote vote.However you want to vote, either by mail, early in person, or November 3rd we’re getting unprecedented numbers of people to the polls and it’s going to turn Donald Trump out of office and elect Joe Biden, Gary Peters, and Democrats up and down the ballot. If you’re upset about this president’s reckless disregard for the safety of our state, how he has tanked our economy and put us in harm’s way, go vote.”
