Businessman Marcus Lemonis cast doubt on Florida Democrat Emily Gregory’s claim that President Donald Trump played no role in her recent election upset, saying it was unrealistic to suggest voters weren’t talking about the president.
Cabrera had asked the Florida Democrat, who flipped the deep-red Florida district that houses President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, how much voters have talked to her about the president, prompting her to suggest the issue had been absent from conversations.
Marcus Lemonis, left, Emily Gregory, right (Noam Galai/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“I would say roughly zero… it really was not a factor for any of my voters, any of my now constituents,” Gregory replied, adding that affordability was her winning issue instead.
“They’re focused on their lives, they’re focused on the absolute crushing cost of goods, the squeeze they are feeling. That’s what I heard every single day at the door, not the most famous constituent down the road,” she said.
Lemonis reacted in disbelief, telling Varney that, while affordability is a major concern for many voters, it strains credibility to suggest Trump has not been part of her discussions.
President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump National Doral in Miami, Fla., on Mar. 9. (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“Affordability is an issue… but to create this idea that nobody’s talking about the President of the United States, regardless of whose party, it just feels like she’s almost trying to make him a non-event,” he said.
At the same time, Lemonis warned Republicans will need a “very clear message” on the issue ahead of November’s midterms, saying his message to Trump would be to acknowledge that the issue is real.
“I would say to him, ‘Listen, we need to stop exaggerating that this is the greatest economy we’ve ever seen and that there [are] no problems out there.’ And we need to say to people. ‘Listen, there’s a lot of things that we’re doing right, and there are a number of things that are not happening as well as they should be, and here’s what I’m gonna do about it,'” he said.
“When you talk to Americans and tell them that everything is fine, they don’t like it, regardless of what side they’re on.”