logo
Rick Scott summons NYers to Florida with sky-high advertisement

Rick Scott summons NYers to Florida with sky-high advertisement

New York Post26-07-2025
Florida Congressman Rick Scott wants New Yorkers wary of life in the Big Apple under a potential Zohran Mandani administration to know they've got options.
On Saturday, an aerial advertisement with Scott's logo crossed the skies high above Coney Island, encouraging beachgoers to consider a relocation to the humid, hurricane-prone home of at least five varieties of venomous snake, should the leftist New York City mayoral front-runner win in November.
'Hate socialism?' read the banner ad. 'Us too! Move to FL.'
4 The aeriel banner was financed by Sen. Rick Scott.
Michael Nagle
4 Scott's current term ends on January 3, 2031.
Getty Images
Scott's airplaned pitch follows recent Times Square digital billboard ads paid for by the Ohio Gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's Vivek Super PAC, which supports the biotech entrepreneur-turned-failed presidential candidate's bid to govern the Buckeye State.
4 A spokesperson for Scott's office was unavailable Saturday.
Michael Nagle
4 Zohran Mamdani is favored to win his mayoral bid this fall.
Getty Images
It was unclear how much the flying ad cost Scott, but on average, aerial advertising in New York City runs between $7,000 and $9,000 for a two-hour flight, according to DashTwo.
A representative from Scott's office was not available to comment Saturday.
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who won the mayoral Democratic primary last month, is considered the frontrunner for City Hall.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘They roll right over': Many Democrats call their party weak and ineffective, AP-NORC poll finds

time9 minutes ago

‘They roll right over': Many Democrats call their party weak and ineffective, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON -- Many Democrats see their political party as 'weak' or 'ineffective,' according to a poll that finds considerable pessimism within Democratic ranks. Republicans are more complimentary of their party, although a small but significant share describe the GOP as 'greedy' or say it is generally "bad." The poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in July reveals warning signs for both major U.S. parties as the political focus shifts to elections in New Jersey and Virginia this fall and the midterm contests next year. Respondents were asked to share the first word or phrase that came to mind when they thought of the Republican and Democratic parties. Answers were then sorted into broad categories, including negative and positive attributes. Overall, U.S. adults held a dim view of both parties, with about 4 in 10 using negative attributes, including words such as 'dishonest' or 'stupid." But nearly nine months after Republican Donald Trump won a second presidential term, Democrats appear to be harboring more resentment about the state of their party than do Republicans. Democrats were likelier to describe their own party negatively than Republicans. Republicans were about twice as likely to describe their own party positively. 'They're spineless,' Cathia Krehbiel, a 48-year-old Democrat from Indianola, Iowa, said of her party. She believes the party's response to the Trump administration has been 'scattershot.' 'I just feel like there's so much recently that's just going abhorrently wrong," Krehbiel said. "And they speak up a little bit and they roll right over.' Overall, roughly one-third of Democrats described their party negatively in the open-ended question. About 15% described it using words like 'weak," or 'apathetic,' while an additional 10% believe it is broadly 'ineffective' or "disorganized.' Only about 2 in 10 Democrats described their party positively, with roughly 1 in 10 saying it is 'empathetic,' or 'inclusive.' An additional 1 in 10 used more general positive descriptors. It is unclear what impact the Democrats' angst may have on upcoming elections or the political debate in Washington, but no political organization wants to be plagued by internal divisions. Still, the Democrats' frustration appears to reflect their concern that party leaders are not doing enough to stop Trump's GOP, which controls Washington. There is little sign that such voters would abandon their party in favor of Trump's allies in upcoming elections, and the vast majority of Democrats described the GOP negatively. But disaffected Democrats might decide not to vote at all. That could undermine their party's push to reclaim at least one chamber of Congress in 2026. Jim Williams, a 78-year-old retiree from Harper Woods, Michigan said he typically supports Democrats, but he is 'disappointed' with the party and its murky message. He feels much worse about the Republican Party, which he said 'has lost it' under Trump's leadership. 'All he does is bully and call names. They've got no morals, no ethics. And the more they back him, the less I like them,' the self-described independent, said of Trump. Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to describe their party positively, with many also using straightforward ideological descriptors like 'conservative.' About 4 in 10 Republicans used positive attributes to characterize the GOP, making general mentions of words such as 'patriotic' or 'hardworking,' or offering associations with the word 'freedom.' Samuel Washington, 65, of Chicago, said he typically votes Republican. Washington praised Trump's leadership, even while acknowledging that the president's policies on trade and spending might be creating short-term economic hardship. 'There's a lot of pain, but the pain is the result of 12 years of misuse and misguided leadership from the Democratic Party,' he said. 'I'm feeling really good about Republicans and the direction that they're going.' But views were not uniformly good. About 2 in 10 Republicans said something negative about the party, including phrases such as 'greedy,' 'for the rich' or 'corrupt.' Republican Dick Grayson, an 83-year-old veteran from Trade, Tennessee, said he is 'disappointed' by his party's fealty to Trump. Among other things, he pointed to the price tag of Trump's tax-and-spend package, which will add nearly $3.3 trillion to the nation's debt over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 'I've always been a Republican, but I'm disillusioned about both parties,' Grayson said. Among all Americans, the poll finds that the Republican Party is viewed slightly more negatively than the Democratic Party. The different is not large: 43% used negative words to describe the Republicans, compared with 39% for the Democrats. Much of the negativity is driven by the opposing party — and independents' distaste for both. Independents are much likelier to describe both parties with negative attributes rather than positive descriptors, though a significant share did not offer an opinion at all. Curtis Musser, a 60-year-old unaffiliated voter from Beverly Hills, Florida, said both parties have shifted too far toward the extreme for his liking. He said he is ready for a serious third party to emerge before the next presidential election, pointing to Elon Musk's new 'America Party,' which has been slow to launch. 'Maybe he would get us headed in the right direction,' the retired schoolteacher said. ___ Peoples reported from New York. ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Did Trump just inadvertently help California save its high-speed rail?
Did Trump just inadvertently help California save its high-speed rail?

San Francisco Chronicle​

time38 minutes ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Did Trump just inadvertently help California save its high-speed rail?

Will we take it? Of course, Trump offered this opportunity in a nasty way. He had the Federal Railroad Administration claw back $4 billion for construction, and declared that he had killed a 'train to nowhere.' Yes, I realize that removing billions from a famously underfunded project wouldn't normally be good news. But we don't live in normal times or a normal country. These days, many us are motivated to act just because our enemies hate the idea. So, when Trump declares he is killing something, he is really offering a neo-fascist version of the biblical mark of Cain — a punishment that also confers a superpower. In Genesis, God banishes Cain for murdering his brother Abel, but also places a 'mark' of protection on Cain so that no one will kill him. Getting attacked by Trump delivers a similar protective mark — even a new lease on life. After the president cut Medicaid, the health program for the poor surged in popularity. When Trump blasted Europe's progressive policies, more Americans sought to move there. And Trump's lawless immigration raids inspired dramatic changes in public support for immigrants. A record-high 79% of Americans now call immigration a 'good thing' for the country. Now Trump's mark is working its magic on high-speed rail. After nearly two decades of indifferent pursuit of the project, the state's leaders are rallying to defend it. After Trump's claw-back, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit demanding all $4 billion returned. Gov. Gavin Newsom, long a skeptic on high-speed rail, now rallies behind it. The High-Speed Rail Authority, usually cautious politically, is blasting the Trump administration. Such shows of support are, put simply, unprecedented. While California Republicans have been most outspoken in criticizing high-speed rail, the state's Democratic establishment has been its real opposition. That's because high-speed rail wasn't a Democratic idea or a priority. Future-minded governor Jerry Brown championed high-speed rail in the 1970s, but got nowhere. Approval for the project came instead from California voters in 2008, thanks to a ballot initiative campaign led by the independent state lawmaker Quentin Kopp. Since then, California Democrats have often quietly registered support for the project in public while seeking to undermine it in private. Democratic legislators don't like building things, especially expensive infrastructure. They prefer to spend on labor interests that fund campaigns, and on social programs that benefit California voters. In recent years, legislative leaders have sought to repurpose high-speed rail funds for regional projects, especially in Southern California. Then, in 2019, Newsom used his state of the state speech to criticize the program and shrink its starting construction footprint to a 171-mile stretch connecting Merced and Bakersfield. The speech made it sound like Newsom was abandoning high-speed rail, and the first Trump administration followed up by withholding hundreds of millions for the project. Subsequent headlines (and even columnists) suggested the project was dead. But facing death, high-speed rail has made real progress in the current decade. Construction on the first phase, in the Central Valley, has produced more than 50 new structures for the rail project. Officials completed environmental reviews on the 463 miles from L.A. to San Jose. Caltrain electrified its Bay Area corridor, a prerequisite for expanding high-speed rail service there. Earlier this year, crews began the process of laying track, with the railhead groundbreaking at Bakersfield. Trump's current attack only highlights this progress. As the president lies, California responds with photos of all that has been built. The state also stands a good chance of winning back the $4 billion in court — the money is already obligated under legally binding agreements. Politically, Trump's attack is an enormous gift. Backers of the project, long a punching bag for populists, now have their own populist target: the dictatorial president who seeks to cancel America's only public high-speed rail. Already, state officials are putting Trump on the defensive. They say Trump is providing a gift to China, which has built the world's most robust high-speed rail network. They note that he's hurting his own voters, by canceling a construction project in the conservative Central Valley. They remind Californians that he's pulling billions from high-speed rail based on personal animus toward a state that doesn't like him. 'Trump's termination of federal grants for California high-speed rail reeks of politics,' Newsom said after the cancellation. 'It's yet another political stunt to punish California.' But Trumpian punishment also opens new possibilities. With the incompetent and corrupt federal administration no longer involved in the project, private investors might be willing to jump in. Recently the state has been discussing a $1 billion annual investment in the project, along with new public-private partnerships. Polls now show support as high as 67% for high-speed rail — twice Trump's approval rating in the state. Make this a contest between fast new trains and an aging autocrat, and California wins.

Judges are scrutinizing the latest mismatch between White House deportation rhetoric and DOJ's position in court
Judges are scrutinizing the latest mismatch between White House deportation rhetoric and DOJ's position in court

Politico

time39 minutes ago

  • Politico

Judges are scrutinizing the latest mismatch between White House deportation rhetoric and DOJ's position in court

Homeland Security officials did not respond to requests for comment. A White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, did not directly respond to questions about the discrepancy between Miller's comments and the administration's position in court. 'The Trump Administration is committed to carrying out the largest mass deportation operation in history by enforcing federal immigration law and removing the countless violent, criminal illegal aliens that Joe Biden let flood into American communities,' Jackson said. A Justice Department spokesperson said there is no disconnect between the DOJ's court filings and the White House's public statements. 'The entire Trump Administration is united in fully enforcing our nation's immigration laws and the DOJ continues to play an important role in vigorously defending the President's deportation agenda in court,' the DOJ spokesperson said. Immigration advocates have pointed to reports about the daily 3,000-arrest quota as proof that the administration's most extreme tactics — ones they contend violate due process and other constitutional or legal principles — are the result of a single-minded drive to hit numerical targets. Judges have pointed to those reports as well, figuring them into the analysis of whether the administration's tactics are legal. The existence of the target has created particular complications in the case challenging the immigration sweeps in Los Angeles. The administration is fighting an order that a federal judge issued last month prohibiting ICE from conducting 'roving' immigration arrests based on broad criteria such as presence at a home improvement store or car wash. The claim of a quota featured prominently in oral arguments at the 9th Circuit last week on the administration's bid to overturn that order. And when the 9th Circuit ruled Friday night, leaving the order largely intact, the judges seemed to highlight the contradiction by quoting the entirety of DOJ's denial and then taking note of Miller's statement to Fox about a 'goal.' The three Democratic-appointed judges assigned to the case said the vague factors ICE appeared to be relying on 'impermissibly cast suspicion on large segments of the law-abiding population, including anyone in the District who appears Hispanic, speaks Spanish or English with an accent, wears work clothes, and stands near a carwash, in front of a Home Depot, or at a bus stop.' During the arguments Monday, the appeals judges assigned to the case pressed the Justice Department for an answer on whether ICE officers were under pressure to meet some numerical target that might encourage them to detain people based on grounds that fall short of the 'reasonable suspicion' the law required.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store