When Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Florida Wednesday to stand in solidarity with residents as the state's six-week abortion went into effect, she was crystal clear about who bore responsibility for it: Donald Trump.
"At the stroke of midnight, another Trump abortion ban went into effect here in Florida," Harris told a crowd of some 200 supporters in Jacksonville, squarely laying the blame on Democrats' rival candidate for the White House. "As of this morning, 4 million women in this state woke up with fewer reproductive freedoms than they had last night."
Speaking at a convention center in a historically Black neighborhood, Harris declared Floridians' new reality a "health care crisis" and said the nation was witnessing a "full-on assault, state by state, on reproductive freedom."
"And understand who is to blame. Former President Donald Trump did this," she said, echoing the Biden-Harris campaign's signature "Trump did this" refrain.
The vice president never once mentioned Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the bill into law last year, but she name-checked Trump—who routinely brags about "terminating" Roe v. Wade—more than 20 times. Ultimately, Trump is the person who set the chaos sweeping the country in motion.
After months of dread and buildup, the implementation of Florida's near-total abortion ban felt like an earthquake. Abortion care providers worked at a frenetic pace, trying to help as many patients seeking their services as possible. Some were too late, while others made it in under the wire. The consequences of those varying outcomes could reverberate through those patients' lives for the rest of their days.
But Harris reminded attendees that they could reverse course by passing an abortion rights ballot measure with 60% approval from Sunshine State voters.
"This November, up and down the ballot, reproductive freedom is on the ballot," she said. "And you, the leaders—you, the people, have the power to protect it with your vote."
And in the very next breath, Harris hitched her ticket's electoral prospects to the fate of the ballot measure.
"Donald Trump may think he can take Florida for granted," said Harris. "It is your power that will send Joe Biden and me back to the White House."
Harris’ mere presence in the state on that consequential day was yet another sign that she and President Joe Biden hope to ensure the Trump campaign can't take Florida’s Electoral College votes for granted.
Polling in Florida currently suggests otherwise, with 538's aggregate for the state putting Trump ahead of Biden by 10 points.
But for the Biden-Harris campaign, Wednesday—which saw the enactment of a ban that will provide an endless number of horror stories—marked the beginning of a campaign reset. Voters often can't see the future until it becomes their reality, which is exactly where Floridians are now.
The Biden-Harris campaign doesn't have to win the state to score a victory there. They simply need to make Trump sweat it out in his own backyard. Florida is a notoriously expensive state to campaign in, and making Trump's cash-poor operation defend it would rob resources from other battleground states.
On the "Hacks on Tap" podcast this week, longtime Republican operative and anti-Trumper Mike Murphy doled out some unsolicited advice to Team Biden about Florida: Light it up with ads.
“If the election's gonna have a big abortion war, and in most places that works for Biden, and you're dripping in money—set Florida on fire," Murphy said. "Throw a match. Florida is a pro-choice state and you got money. ... Trump doesn't have a complete lock on it. He has an advantage, but god, you can create a lot of trouble for him there."
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