Ahead of Donald Trump’s visit to Maine on Friday, Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra released the following statement:

“Donald Trump is parachuting into Maine to pat himself on the back for a job well done on his pandemic response and to cap off a painful week in our nation’s history made much worse by his incredibly dangerous leadership. From tweeting that protestors should be shot, to announcing that he would instruct the US military to overtake American cities, to ordering the removal of peaceful protestors with tear gas to make way for a photo op, he’s shown just how alarmingly unfit he is to be president.

“Now, as we face the most serious public health crisis the world has seen in a century, Trump is declaring victory despite more than 100,000 deaths from the virus, including nearly 100 here in Maine, and catastrophic job losses nationwide. It didn’t have to be this way. Trump’s failure to take the virus seriously early on coupled with his woefully inadequate testing plan is directly responsible for worsening this public health crisis.

“While Trump tweets threats, stokes division, and shows zero empathy to Americans protesting injustice and protecting themselves from a deadly virus, he’s coming to Maine to use our essential frontline workers as a backdrop for his faux victory celebration. Mainers deserve real leadership from our federal government, not a photo op.”

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