Thread by @asanderford

The chair of the @NebraskaDems opens her presser by saying @realDonaldTrump is here for a “super spreader rally.” Kleeb: We have the mobile billboard behind you. Dr. Hurst will talk about what’s going on. New digital and TV ads running.

Kleeb: Contacted 1.4 million voters. Democrats are clearly motivated. 80 percent return rate when GOP has about 70 percent. Real issue today is how Republicans continue to be reckless with coronavirus. And GOP is not being truthful about having a health care plan.

Kleeb: “Our message to the Republican Party is where is your plan?” Loss of protections for pre-existing conditions means it’s going to affect people who’ve had covid, people who’ve been pregnant.

Dr. Glenn Hurst, of Iowa, who leads a rural caucus there: I am a supporter of Cindy Axne and Theresa Greenfield. Want to help Kara Eastman and Preston Love. Coronavirus response “has been botched.” We keep seeing numbers rising when they should be declining.

Hurst: We were told to expect 200k deaths by October. We sadly met that goal. We were told to expect 400k by year’s end. We are told half a million. It’s imperative that we address this.

Hurst: “We need a plan that works, and we don’t have a plan that works.” We have a president who denies that things are getting worse.

Hurst: He’s a racist and a xenophobe and that matters. We see worse infection and death rates in communities of color. (Trump has said many times that he’s the least racist person in many rooms he’s in.)

Hurst: We are seeing many places like North Omaha underserved by family medicine clinics. Systemic racism exists. Systemic racism is the reason for increased deaths of African-Americans in Nebraska.

Hurst: It’s the nature of the man (Trump). Trump has latched onto early comments by Dr. Fauci, since corrected, to say masks don’t work. We know they do.

Hurst: We also have a president who is a bully. He pulls others down. He hears weakness when he hears wear a mask. I hear service, to others. When he hears science, he hears fear. We hear faith, how putting action into place works.

Hurst: A bully throws a super spreader event in a city that is seeing cases increase for three weeks. Why is he in Omaha Nebraska and not a battleground where he needs the votes. It’s because he’s nonsensical. He’s here to grab the one electoral vote Barack Obama got. #ne02

Kleeb: “This is reckless act by a chaotic president.” I think Nebraskans care about this. If Trump knew one thing about the 2nd District it’s that suburban women will decide this race and the House race. This will hurt him with them. This will get his base out.

Kleeb: There’s more spending from national this time. I haven’t seen this much excitement around a political race in Omaha since 2008, when Obama won.

Kleeb: I think people have just sort of started to wake up. He has embarrassed America.

Kleeb: We are a united party. (That’s it folks. Headed back to car. More soon.)

Democrat @karaforcongress also held a brief presser via Zoom. Her opponent, @DonJBacon, is expected to attend the @realDonaldTrump rally.

Here is a little of what Eastman said:

We think we can turn people out for Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.

Voters have had four years to see both Donald Bacon and Donald Trump in action, in office. They feel let down.

“Nebraskans are smart. They know when we’ve been duped.”

Eastman: My fear for tonight is that a lot of people are going to get Covid, “and that’s scary to me” because I’m talking to people everyday, people who are afraid for their lives and their family’s lives. I also think it will hopefully get people excited to vote, on both sides.

Update: I am hearing from the staffers of @DonJBacon’s campaign that he will attend tonight. And from the campaign of @BenSasse that he will not. Sasse, if you recall, said some things that angered Trump.

omaha.com/news/-and-regi…

And Trump said this of Sasse in return, also from @MortonOWH:

google.com/amp/s/omaha.co…

If folks from Douglas or Sarpy Counties are attending the @TrumpVictoryNE rally and want to speak to a reporter about the experience, drop me a line via direct message on Twitter or email at [e-mail]. The press pen can be a hard place to grab folks.

Same goes for people protesting the visit. See above and reach out.

@threadreaderapp Please unroll