Trump defies the coronavirus and travels to a Miami overwhelmed by the outbreaks: he will host a fundraising gala at $ 500,000 per ticket

Paula Lugones

07/10/2020 - 7:39

• Clarín.com
• World

President Donald Trump challenges the coronavirus with a trip this Friday to Miami, one of the global epicenters of the pandemic and that is on the verge of sanitary collapse, to campaign: he will visit a neighborhood of Venezuelan immigrants and star in a fundraising dinner whose card it costs more than half a million dollars.

Trump will land at noon in Miami and visit the headquarters of the Southern Command to supervise the operations against drug trafficking in South America. The military unit is located in Doral, a neighborhood near its golf club and in Miami-Dade County, which is currently experiencing a dramatic Covid outbreak of cases19, with 90% more hospitalizations in the last two weeks.

In addition, intensive care beds are about to run out, and nurses have been called in to come from other states because those in the area are no longer in supply.

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Trump arrives at Doral after a recent controversy in which he said he would be willing to meet with Nicolás Maduro, a statement that raised a lot of dust and later led the president to add that he would only meet to discuss his departure from power.

Maduro and several of his officials are accused by the Department of Justice of drug trafficking. With this visit to the Southern Command and then a meeting with the Venezuelan community at the Doral Jesus Worship Center Church, Trump seeks to shore up the vote of that sector that is increasingly prevalent in Florida.

The Sunshine State, which sometimes votes Republicans and sometimes Democrats, is always important to winning the White House. But in the November elections, where Trump is seeking reelection, Florida is essential for the president because he needs to win here yes or yes since, according to polls, he is far behind his rival Joe Biden in other states that are usually highly contested.

If Trump loses in Florida, the chances of reelection will practically be buried.

So he also takes the trip to raise money in Hillsboro Beach, a small city north of Fort Lauderdale whose inhabitants voted massively for Trump in 2016. In a private mansion in that coastal district, he will have a very exclusive fundraising dinner. The Washington Post said entry can cost up to $ 580,000 per couple.

But in addition to the advantages of the campaign, Trump seeks in Miami to reinforce his idea that the coronavirus is a reality with which we must live and that any attempt to back down with the reopening measures is an exaggeration.

A man cleans the front door of a restaurant in Miami, which only works with tables outside. / AFP

It is clear that the president seeks to "normalize" and leave behind this pandemic that has greatly complicated him with his greatest electoral advantage, the march of the economy. Getting fully into the epicenter of Covid19 is a huge challenge. Will you use a chinstrap, an item that you refuse to use? Will it maintain the social distance that experts demand of citizens? The whole country will be attentive to these details.

A gigantic display

In addition, there is another element to the controversy: any trip by a president means a huge deployment of resources , with officials and health authorities of the White House and secret service agents who travel in advance to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

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Medical preparations are important. A primary hospital is designated to serve the President in an emergency. The White House medical unit and the secret service must coordinate logistics with the hospital for any eventuality.

Secure communications are also installed between officers traveling with the president on the ground so that they can establish immediate contact with the hospital. There is usually a trauma unit prepared and nurses and doctors who must be available. All this in the midst of the pandemic is enormously complicated

Miami special envoy