The Hill’s Campaign Report: Trump inflames red state-blue state coronavirus divide

Welcome to The Hill’s Campaign Report, your daily rundown on all the latest news in the 2020 presidential, Senate and House races. Did someone forward this to you? Click here to subscribe.

We’re Julia Manchester, Max Greenwood and Jonathan Easley. Here’s what we’re watching today on the campaign trail.

 

LEADING THE DAY

President Trump on Friday appeared to throw his support behind protesters in battleground states with Democratic governors where conservatives are chafing at the stay-at-home orders.

Trump has never been one to pass on a chance to engage in the culture wars, and his tweets, which effectively encouraged his followers to rebel against government-enforced social distancing orders, appeared aimed at exploiting the growing rift between the left and the right over state government responses to the coronavirus outbreak.

In densely populated and generally liberal urban areas, citizens are largely adhering to extreme social distancing measures that have closed restaurants and bars for going on a month now.

But backlash is growing in more conservative parts of the country, where citizens are on high alert about government overreach, and some are concerned that the economic toll will cost Trump the election in 2020.

“LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” Trump tweeted, followed quickly by “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.”

“LIBERATE VIRGINIA,” he added, “and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

Virginia expanded its background checks policy last week and imposed new limits on gun purchases.

Hillary Clinton won Virginia and Minnesota in 2016, though the Trump campaign says it will compete in both in 2020. Michigan is in line to be one of the most hotly contested battlegrounds, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is a candidate to be Joe Biden’s vice presidential nominee.

In all three states and Wisconsin, another 2020 battleground, citizens have gathered at state capitols to protest measures that have closed nonessential businesses and have kept people marooned at home for more than a month.

Trump’s tweets have been denounced by Democrats, who view the president’s remarks as having the potential to deepen the nation’s health crisis.

But the debate comes as states weigh the best path forward in reopening local economies amid a pandemic that has provoked dual health and economic crises.

It’s one more divide the deeply polarized nation faces ahead of what is lining up to be a bitter 2020 election. – Jonathan Easley

 

READ MORE:

Trump appears to back those protesting social distancing measures, by Brett Samuels.

Five takeaways on White House coronavirus guidance, by Morgan Chalfant, Nathan Weixel, and Brett Samuels.

Protesters in Wisconsin plan ‘Freedom Rally’ against stay-at-home orders, by J. Edward Moreno.

Whitmer says ‘irresponsible actions’ by protesters could lengthen stay-at-home orders, by J. Edward Moreno.

 

FROM THE TRAIL:

Former Vice President Joe Biden is being advised by some Democrats to select a running mate with strong economic credentials as the country faces a steep climb out of a coronavirus-fueled recession. The Hill’s Amie Parnes reports.

Biden has already begun assembling a White House transition team to advise his Cabinet picks so he’ll be ready to ramp up if he beats Trump in the general election in November, according to The Hill’s Jonathan Easley.

 

PERSPECTIVES:

Dahlia Lithwick: Coronavirus might cure U.S. of desire for reality show president.

Washington Free Beacon: The Pelosi recession. 

Tom Perez: GOP put lives in danger to steal an election.

Nelson Schwartz: Unemployment permeates U.S. economy.

Tony Romm: Coronavirus has unleashed havoc on Michigan economy.

D.J. Tice: U.S. must weigh economic toll in deciding coronavirus response.

 

FROM CONGRESS & THE STATES:

A few ads running at the state level that we’ll draw your attention to so you can see the different messages voters are receiving in key battlegrounds…

In Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district, Republican Jim Bognet has emerged as the top fundraiser in the GOP primary race to take on freshman Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Penn.). Trump won the district by 10 points in 2016, but it swung to Democrats in 2018.

Bognet’s first television ad is called “Make China Pay,” pivoting off Trump’s hawkish stance on China. In the ad, Bognet makes the case that “the Chinese lied to us and tried to cover up the coronavirus.” He talks about how the stay-at-home orders have impacted his family’s construction business.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Arizona, the liberal group Committee to Protect Medicare, run by an emergency room doctor in West Michigan named Rob Davidson, is out with a new ad called “We Need Help.”

The ad features testimony from Davidson and other emergency room doctors pleading for help from Trump and saying they are experiencing a shortage of tests, masks and ventilators due to the “lack of coordinated response” from the federal government.

The group represents a coalition of doctors across 40 states advocating for universal health care and the ad is targeting 9 million voters in the battleground states.

 

MONEY WATCH:

The country’s largest Latino-owned political consulting firm has launched a Democratic super PAC to turn out Hispanic voters in battleground states. The firm, Solidarity Strategies, is owned and run by Chuck Rocha, who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign, reports The Hill’s Rafael Bernal.

A Democratic super PAC will fight the Trump campaign in court over an ad campaign criticizing his response to the coronavirus pandemic, Justine Coleman reports.

 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

(Keep in mind these dates could change because of the outbreak.)

April 17:

Wyoming

 

April 28:

Ohio

 

May 2:

Kansas Democratic primary

 

May 12:

Nebraska primaries

 

May 19:

Oregon primaries

 

May 22:

Hawaii Democratic primary

 

June 2:

Connecticut primaries

Delaware primaries

District of Columbia primaries

Indiana primaries

Maryland primaries

Montana primaries

New Mexico primaries

Pennsylvania primaries

Rhode Island primaries

South Dakota primaries

 

June 9:

Georgia primaries

West Virginia primaries

 

June 20:

Louisiana primaries

 

June 23:

Kentucky primaries

New York primaries

 

July 7:

New Jersey primaries

 

August 17-20:

Democratic National Convention

 

August 24-27:

Republican National Convention

 

ONE HOPEFUL THING:

CAPTAIN TOM: A 99-year-old British Army Veteran raising money for the country’s National Health Service (NHS) in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, has stolen the hearts of people across the globe.

Tom Moore has raised more than £20 million ($15 million) since April 8 for his JustGiving page. The donations came in as ‘Captain Tom’ walked 100 lengths of his garden with the help of his walker. As the former soldier finished his last lap, Moore was given a guard of honor by the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment.

BREAKING: 99-year-old army veteran Captain Tom Moore has raised more than £20m for the NHS by doing 100 laps of his garden.

Read the latest on #COVID19 here: https://t.co/9UusgIAR4a pic.twitter.com/6YSrQfgUXj

— SkyNews (@SkyNews) April 17, 2020

The idea for the challenge all started when Moore’s daughter suggested he should do laps as part of his recovery from a partial hip replacement and use the opportunity to raise funds.

Moore served in Indonesia, Britain and India during World War II. He is set to turn 100 later this month.

Let’s all be like Captain Tom.

For more good news, be sure to check out The Hill’s Selfless Acts page, where our reporters are detailing how Americans are helping each other through the coronavirus pandemic.

We’ll be back Monday with more campaign news of the day!