Palm Beach County Democratic officials are challenging President Trump’s policies on the final day of the Republican National Convention.
Keith James is the mayor of West Palm Beach, the largest city in Palm Beach County. He says the pandemic could have been better handled if the president had not argued with COVID-19 experts in January.
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Speaking at a virtual press conference hosted by Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, James said bad policies from the nation's highest office have had a trickle-down effect.
Tourism, the "bread and butter of our economy in Palm Beach County," is down 60.5 percent in the second quarter.
"Due to job losses fueled by the pandemic, more than 600,000 Floridians have lost their health insurance between February and May," James said. "Can you imagine not having health insurance in the midst of a pandemic? It’s unimaginable."
The mayor also shared his thoughts on the shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha, Wis. police officer responding to a domestic dispute. James said the RNC isn't discussing the root causes of the unrest.
"The Republicans will talk about the so-called violence but they do not discuss the cause of the unrest in our streets," James said. "We have a president who is adding fuel to the racial injustice fire. He is stoking chaos in our cities — and he's not bringing our communities, our people together."
Palm Beach County Commissioner Mack Bernard also made an appearance. He said during the pandemic, the unemployment rate in July rose to 11.6 percent in the county, higher than the statewide average.
"Not only did American people hear no plans for overcoming the pandemic for the second consecutive night at the RNC, but the president’s chief economic advisor even referred to the coronavirus in the past tense,” Bernard said.
Bernard was referring to Larry Kudlow who, during a Tuesday speech at the RNC, spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic and described it by saying "it was awful."
The Democratic elected officials endorsed the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ticket and said President Trump declaring Mar-a-Lago as his permanent residence last year means that he has a unique stake in the county.
