MIAMI — In a final election-eve push in Miami on Monday night for Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama tried to pump up Democratic voter turnout, aiming his message squarely at voters who cast ballots in 2008 and 2012 only to stay home when Donald Trump won the state four years later.
"The reason I'm back here in South Florida is because some of you have not voted yet," Obama said. "It's not because you think the guy in office is doing a good job but it's because you're skeptical that your vote is going to make a difference. I want to talk to you. I don't know what your circumstances are but if you're hearing me and you haven't voted yet, just know that a president can't solve every problem, government can't solve every problem, but it can make things better."
Addressing a car rally at Florida International University — billed by the Biden campaign as "an election-eve close-out rally" with Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and DJ Irie — Obama warned voters in Miami-Dade County, the hardest hit spot in the state for COVID-19 infections, about another Trump term during the pandemic. He said it would mean scientists like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, being sidelined by a White House interested in opening the entire economy as fast as possible.
"His intention is to eliminate from his administration the world's leading expert on infectious disease," Obama said, referring to Trump's remark to supporters during a Sunday night rally in Miami-Dade to "let me wait until a little bit after the election" when they chanted "fire Fauci."
"He listens to the guy who thinks injecting bleach might be a good idea but not actual experts on infectious disease," Obama said. "America just had its single worst week of new cases. Their closing argument on COVID is, you ain't seen nothing yet."
The undercurrent of fear in Obama's speech seemed to align with the anxious mood of some attendees. Before Obama's speech, large video screens played somber videos highlighting racial inequality and losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Honestly, I'm worried about Florida," said Lyla Todywala, 57, who has lived in Miami for 20 years and is working from home due to the pandemic. "I think it's going to come down to how many people turn out."
Todywala said that while immigration and climate change are the most important issues to her, Trump's handling of COVID-19 has made clear how much is at stake in this election.
"This could have been a good test for him. He could have easily been reelected. But he chose to deny and not listen to the doctors," she said.
Sylvia Glen, a Colombian American Biden supporter, said she came to the rally "because I'm afraid for our democracy. I never thought that this would happen, but the truth is we have to be alert."
Glen, 66, who identifies as an independent, said she has lost friends through this election cycle, after being accused of being a leftist.
"Every nation deserves the president they have in the moment. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump, we deserve him," she said.
The Trump campaign sought to cast Obama's rally, which included 246 cars and 466 people spread out in a large parking lot to comply with social distancing requirements, as a last-ditch attempt to save face in Miami-Dade, where Trump appears to be performing better in 2020 than he did in 2016.
"This is Barack Obama's third visit to South Florida, and each visit is more pathetic than the last as he struggles to garner support for Joe Biden among the Latino community," Trump campaign spokeswoman Danielle Alvarez said in a statement. "Meanwhile, President Trump held a rally last night with 15,000 energetic Latinos who are eager to see four more years of 'Promises Made, Promises Kept.'"
Trump likely heads into Tuesday facing a deficit in votes in Florida. About 108,000 more Democrats than Republicans had voted through Sunday, the final day of in-person early voting. But that doesn't take into account independents or those who cross party lines to vote.
Campaign operatives on both sides of the aisle believe Biden is likely winning independents, though they disagree on the margins. Estimates of Biden's pre-Election Day lead by political operatives from both parties run from 125,000 to 600,000 votes.
Obama said it was important not only to win, but to win by a large margin, after Trump and his campaign suggested that he may try to declare victory based on early vote returns that favor him in some key swing states.
"He basically plans to announce victory no matter what the numbers are, but if we beat him soundly, he won't be able to do it," Obama said. "But that requires folks right here in South Florida to vote."
The Trump campaign also held its final Miami event on Monday, a small indoor affair, after Trump's Sunday-to-Monday morning airport rally that violated county social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines.
Lara Trump, the wife of the president's son, Eric, spoke at a ticketed "Make America Great Again" event at a banquet hall in West Miami-Dade. She spoke alongside former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"The polls are wrong, ladies and gentleman," Lara Trump told the group of about 50 supporters. "The silent majority is real. But we are going to be very loud tomorrow night."
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Trump said she expects two dynamics to play out: Democrats will underperform compared to 2016 turnout, and Republicans will turn out in big numbers on Election Day.
"We really feel like that is going to happen in a big way tomorrow for the president, not just in the state of Florida, but in many states across the country," she said. "For us, that projects a very big win for the president."
