Rick Scott on Trump and the 2020 Election

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: I guess I need to ask you, though, how come, you know, his own popularity, according to his own internal polling, is a little low, lower than maybe all of you would like to see, given the strong numbers on his performance on the economy and other such issues? People have said those two facts shouldn’t be in the same sentence.

SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Well, I’ve been in one primary and three general elections, and the polls always would show me losing. They would never show I would win. So, the only poll that really matters is on election day. And I think what he’s got to do is he’s got to talk about his successes. The economy is on fire. He’s going to Florida, my home state, where our unemployment when I left was down to 3.3 percent. Very few people are on unemployment benefits. So, he’s got to talk about that. He’s got to talk about — the other thing that’s important to people, American security, whether you’re talking about the crisis on the border or dealing with Iran or China, North Korea. He’s got lots of issues out there, and he’s got to talk about what he’s doing to try to make sure that Americans are safe. Those are the two most important issues to Floridians right now.

AMANPOUR: I know you’re concentrating on Floridians, but if I just might ask you to put your expert hat on. In Texas, not far from your state, half the voters say they won’t vote for him, and also, he seems to be again, according to their own internal polling, trailing Joe Biden in key swing states. I guess the question is, why wouldn’t this president be cruising to re-election?

SCOTT: You know, I’m not much of a pundit. I can talk about Florida. I know — you know, these elections are hard. You’ve got to get out there and you’ve got to tell your story, you got to go convince people that you’re going to solve their personal problems. Think about what people are doing. They’re saying — if you get their vote, they’re saying, “You are going to be better for my family than the alternative,” and that’s what the president’s got to say. He’s got to say, “The economy is better because of the actions I’ve taken to reduce taxes and reduce regulation.” You’re safer because of actions I’ve — he’s taken on North Korea and China and Iran and all these places. And so, that’s what he’s got to go sell. And it’s — these races are going to be — it’s hard to win. You’ve got to — my state is a 50/50 state. You’ve got to work your tail off to win. You’ve got to talk to everybody.