Washington, D.C. — Tomorrow, President Donald Trump visits Panama City, Florida, after failing to make good on promises, including providing quick relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. Here are the five worst broken promises Trump has made to Floridians as a president and as a candidate in 2016:
Promise: “We’re doing more than has ever been done before.” – Trump on Hurricane Michael relief, 10/15/18
Reality:
- “Trump brings politics to Panhandle, but not federal aid hurricane-ravaged area needs.” [Miami Herald, 5/6/19]
- Trump is delaying billions worth of aid to states including Florida who experienced devastating hurricanes and fires last year, refusing to send aid to Puerto Rico’s continued recovery from Hurricane Maria—“the deadliest natural disaster in the US in 100 years resulting in approximately 3,000 deaths.” [CNN, 4/29/19]
Promise: “My administration will address important environmental priorities, like the Everglades, and ensure quality water all across America, including the fixing of water problems like Lake Okeechobee.” – Trump in Panama City, Florida, 10/11/16
Reality:
- Trump’s budget requests included “no money for the new reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. The reservoir is key to reducing harmful discharges that foul waterways in the Treasure Coast and worsen red tide blooms in the Gulf of Mexico. The reservoir also would store water for delivery to the Everglades at the right time.” [South Florida Sun Sentinel, 3/15/19]
- Florida lawmakers including Senators Scott and Rubio on Trump’s 2020 budget request: “Failing to meet the basic federal funding commitments to restore the Everglades is contrary to the administration’s goal…it is time for the administration to meet that commitment.” [Sen. Marco Rubio statement, 3/13/19]
Promise: “The rule of special interests is over, it’s gone. If I win. If I don’t win, it will be worse than ever before.” – Trump in Tampa, Florida, 8/24/16
Reality:
- Trump appointed former coal lobbyist—Andrew Wheeler—to lead Environmental Protection Agency.[CNN, 2/28/19]
- Trump appointed former oil and gas lobbyist, David Bernhardt, to run the Department of Interior. [The Washington Post, 4/11/19]
- Trump appointed former pharmaceutical drug executive, Alex Azar, to run the Department of Health and Human Services.[Reuters, 11/13/17]
- The Trump administration currently made up of over 160former lobbyists serving in senior positions.[Center for Responsive Politics]
Promise: “People are not going to die in the middle of a street because they have absolutely no money and they’re sick.” – Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida, 2/21/16
Reality:
- Trump’s ongoing attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Congress and the courts would result in more than 23 million Americans losing their health care coverage, 2 million of which live in Florida. [Center for American Progress, 5/25/17]
- Trump is now supporting a lawsuit arguing the law is unconstitutional. Similar to earlier attempts to repeal and replace the ACA, 134 million Americans with preexisting conditions would lose protections—more than 7.8 million of whom live in Florida—if this suit is successful. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/17]
Promise: “We’re going to reduce the cost of college, which is going up at record setting pace.” Trump in Lakeland, Florida, 10/12/16
Reality:
- Trump is proposing to cap the amount students can borrow. [CNBC, 3/19/19]
- Trump is proposing to cut the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which allows public servants such as service men and women, police officers, firefighters, first responders, teachers, public defenders, and more to have their student loans paid off after 10 years of faithfully making their loan payments. [Forbes, 3/12/19]
- Trump is proposing to stop subsidizing interest payments on student loans for low-income students currently enrolled in school. [Forbes, 3/12/19]
- Trump stopped processing borrower defense applications for over 150,000 student loan recipients who claimed they were defrauded or mislead by their school. [Inside Higher Ed, 4/1/19]
- Trump sought to end consumer safeguards that protect students from shoddy colleges. [The New York Times, 8/10/18]
For more information on this topic or to talk to an expert, please contact Freedom Alexander Murphy at [email protected] or 202-796-9712.