Pence Speech in Florida Disrupted by Airplane Flying Coronavirus Message

President Donald Trump is beginning preparations to return to the campaign trail this week after being briefly hospitalized with COVID-19.  During his downtime, Vice President Mike Pence has taken the President’s place at the lectern, delivering stump speeches in important battleground states such as Florida.

The Sunshine State is a must-win for Trump the incumbent come November, as a victory would be incredibly difficult without Florida’s electoral college votes.

So, with the President temporarily unable to speak directly to Floridians in person, Pence stepped in…but not without incident. 

As Mike Pence spoke to retirees in Florida on Saturday, a banner towed by a plane flew over his head: “Pence is why you can’t see your grandkids.” The vice president addressed members of The Villages, the nation’s largest retirement community, warning the largely maskless crowd that the election would determine “whether America remains America.” It was not immediately clear who was behind the banner, which was captured on video. The Villages, usually a conservative stronghold, seems more and more contested territory in the 2020 election. On the same day as Pence’s speech, a parade of golf carts carrying senior citizens headed towards the polls to drop off ballots for former Vice President Joe Biden.

The incident comes as a number of key pollsters have reported a tight race in Florida, with some surveys even showing an advantage for former Vice President Joe Biden over Trump.

The Democrats have routinely blamed President Trump for for the extent of the damage done by COVID-19, pressing the issue ever more fervently as we approach the election.