ICYMI: AHEAD OF TRUMP TOWN HALL, PA DEMS, REP. KENYATTA & COUNCILMEMBER GAUTHIER HIGHLIGHT THE QUESTIONS TRUMP MUST BE ASKED ON THE ADMIN’S FAILED COVID-19 RESPONSE, ECONOMIC CHAOS

PENNSYLVANIA — Ahead of President Trump’s Philadelphia town hall, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Vice Chair Sen. Sharif Street, Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) and Philadelphia Councilmember Jamie Gauthier hosted a virtual press conference earlier today to ask the questions that Trump needs to answer about his administration’s ongoing crises, including Trump’s downplaying of the COVID-19 pandemic and his broken promises to Pennsylvania’s unemployed workers and struggling small businesses. The group also touted their support for Joe Biden and his plans to build our country back better.

A recording of the virtual press conference can be found here, and an audio clip is available here. Check out some of the highlights below: 

Sen. Sharif Street, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Vice Chair:

“[Trump] coming here and standing in the place where liberty was founded — while he does everything he can to frustrate liberty — is ridiculous. I think the people of Pennsylvania will reject it…And we’re going to elect President Joe Biden [and] Vice President Kamala Harris that care about our communities and that will be there. And I think the people of Pennsylvania know particularly that the man born in Scranton, and lived in Wilmington, right outside of Philadelphia, in Joe Biden has always cared about us more, and has done what he needs.”

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), PA House of Representatives:

“The question Donald Trump has to answer tonight is… ‘are you better off than you were four years ago?’  But let me rephrase it in a way of what Donald Trump said. He said, ‘what do you have to lose?’ He asked us, ‘what do we have to lose?’ And now we have an answer to that question. We’ve lost over 8,000 Pennsylvanians to a pandemic that he has constantly downplayed, and said it would go away like a miracle, even though he was secretly talking about what we’re saying he knew how deadly and how dangerous it was. 

We have lost thousands of Pennsylvania businesses, many of whom may never recover and had no shot at being able to recover because the PPP program wasn’t given out to the small businesses, the mom and pop shops that needed it the most. It was first and foremost allocated to Donald Trump’s campaign contributors.”

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, Philadelphia City Council: 

“I want to welcome Donald Trump to Philly today. I really do. I want him to greet the thousands of families in our city, an overwhelming number of which are Black and Brown families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. I want him to greet the hundreds of thousands of residents here in Philadelphia and around the state who are out of work and struggling to put food on the table as a result of this crisis.

And I want him to greet the small business owners who have been forced to shutter their companies for good because of the havoc this crisis has wreaked on our economy over the last six months. Since this man was sworn into office, he has been systematically dismantling our democracy, piece by piece, and selling it for parts to his wealthy and powerful friends in corporate America.”

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