Sen. Rick Scott Discusses Republican Election Strategy

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): You know, I think, at all levels of government, it could have been way more consistent on the use of face masks, on social distancing. Instead of this thing about politics, give people the facts. While I was governor, we had four hurricanes, I had a healthcare crisis that impacted babies, and my job was to inform you, inform you, inform you. And what I found is, if you give people good information, they actually really make good decisions. They want to stay alive. They want to keep families healthy. So, it was — you know, government was inconsistent on the mask, and they shouldn’t have done that. They should — and to this day, they should be telling us, where is the coronavirus? You know, which business establishments are seeing a coronavirus, which aren’t, so we can make good decisions, because we will. Americans will make good decisions just like people all over the world. They want to be safe. They care about their families.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: And of course, lots of bad decisions have cost a lot of lives. Now, let me ask you this. You just said that you believe that there is, you know, a clear distinction. The Republican Convention, you say, is going to put forth a message that it believes the Democrats are in the hands of what you said are the radical left. Now, you said Joe Biden is a likable guy. I know you know Joe Biden very well. He’s been on the stage for, you know, many, many, many decades. Kind of everybody knows him, and this radical left thing, A, isn’t sticking. And it seems — I mean, it’s certainly not true. I mean, he’s not radical left. If anything, the progressives were upset that a centrist got the nomination. And he didn’t choose a so-called radical left vice presidential candidate. She’s also centrist. Is this actually going to stick?

AMANPOUR: Well, Christiane, if you think about it, look, in America we believe — we don’t — one government run healthcare, all right. They’re for Medicare for All. That’s ultimately going to be government run healthcare. We don’t want to kill all the jobs with the Green New Deal. Those are pretty radical issues in this country. So, I think if you look at the differences in the Republican platform is we believe in freedom. We believe in focusing on how to get more jobs. We don’t believe — I mean, Biden’s tax cuts could be the biggest — or tax increase is going to be the biggest tax increase in the history of this country. You can’t do that, especially now in a horrible economy. So, if you look at taxes, Medicare, if you look at the Green New Deal, versus we want to lower taxes, we want more opportunity for people, we want an accountable government, that’s — I mean, that’s going to be less opportunity under Joe Biden, more opportunity under Donald Trump. Now, none of us are going to tweet like Donald Trump. Our speeches are not going to be like Donald Trump’s. Our convictions are not going to be like Donald Trump’s. But if you go down to the issues, I think — for the little guy that’s trying to get ahead, Donald Trump is better for that guy.