| Palm Beach Post
On a day when the country got optimistic economic news, President Trump’s campaign brought Florida business owners together to tout the president’s economic agenda.
The three roundtable discussions organized by Trump Victory — in Miami, Orlando and Tampa — celebrated Friday’s jobs report that showed the U.S. economy regained 1.37 million in August. That was over 500,000 more jobs than economists expected.
Another pleasant result: The nationwide unemployment rate dropped to single digits —8.4% — down from 10.2% in July.
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“It’s big. It’s monumental,” said Longwood Mayor Matt Morgan, who hosted the Orlando roundtable, of the monthly jobs report’s gains. “We had 1.4 million people that went back in the last month alone.
Democrats said the cheering is premature and noted that 13.6 million Americans are still unemployed across the country.
“Donald Trump will go down in history as the worst jobs president on record, and today’s report shows us that even with some gains, Trump has left our economy in a deep hole,” said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic Party. “Trump’s empty promises and chaotic leadership has led to more job loss and more uncertainty for small business owners. Joe Biden has the experience and skills we need to recover from this crisis and build back our economy stronger than ever before.”
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The Trump Victory roundtables featured fast food chain entrepreneurs, restaurant franchisees, construction industry leaders, cigar makers, a spa owner and the founder of a natural supplements company.
The business owners frequently noted that, before the pandemic, Palm Beach County and other Florida urban areas had posted historically low unemployment rates. They lauded the Paycheck Protection Plan, the CARES Act and other legislation passed by Congress and signed by Trump that they said saved their businesses during the shutdown.
The choice of business as a topic for Friday’s roundtable meetings was no coincidence. In addition to the positive jobs report, a Quinnipiac University poll of Florida voters released Thursday showed that the economy was a top concern, and that those surveyed preferred Trump, not Democratic nominee Joe Biden, to manage the country’s financial fate.
The poll found 27% of voters said the economy was the “most important issue in deciding who to vote for.” And by a 13-point margin, those respondents chose Trump to manage the economy over Biden, 55% to 42%.
Overall, the poll found Biden leading Trump, 48% to 45%, in Florida but the survey reflected other polls showing that the economy is the one issue where Trump routinely tops Biden among voter preferences.
The Orlando event included homebuilder Lee Steinhauer, who credited the post-pandemic jobs comeback to Trump’s “pro-growth agenda.”
“We were facing a Great Recession, a Great Depression,” said Steinhauer, president of The Steinhauer Group. “But we are roaring back. It’s unbelievable.”
Steinhauer said he fears that Biden would make good on a pledge to shutdown the economy again.
‘[Trump] kept our industry going. Truth is, the recovery is just starting,” he said. “It will be a disaster for the home building industry if we have another shutdown like Biden has said. We can’t go back. We have to keep going forward.”
Michelle Smith, President, Source 1 Specialty Services, Inc., credited the administration’s tax cuts for helping to boost employment, wages and benefits. She said companies were “able to invest” gains from lower taxes to provide increases in take home pay and retirement plans.
“The tax and jobs legislation, that’s what has done it,” she said.
Others warned of dire consequences and setbacks if Biden wins on Nov. 3.
Jeff Borysiewicz, Owner, Corona Cigar Company, recalled how the Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice president, went after his and other tobacco ventures by seeking to tax and regulate the industry out of business.
“If you vote for Biden, it’s the same gang,” he said. “This election, our business depends on it.”
