Andrew Gillum Wants Opponent To Focus On Issues, Not Race

9-4-18-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY-

 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The man who could become Florida’s first black governor on Sunday called on his opponent to refrain from name-calling and to focus on the issues.

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee for governor, was asked about comments Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis made after Tuesday’s primary. DeSantis said voters aren’t going to “monkey this up” by electing Gillum.

“He’s gotten accustomed to calling names. He’s a Harvard-educated man, surely he knows his way around the U.S. vocabulary,” Gillum told MSNBC’s Joy Reid. “But he chooses rather to embrace these kinds of dog whistles and bullhorns.”

While saying he wouldn’t engage in name-calling, Gillum also said he wasn’t going to compete in a “pig fight” with DeSantis and President Donald Trump, who endorsed DeSantis and has used Twitter to criticize Gillum.

“I’m not going to follow him and Donald Trump down into the swamp of politics. My grandmother used to say, ‘When you wrestle with pigs, you both get dirty, but the pig likes it,’” Gillum said. “I’m not going to be able to compete and win in a pig fight with these guys.”

Also Sunday, DeSantis said in an interview with John Catsimatidis of 970 AM radio in New York that Gillum “will turn Florida into Venezuela.”

“Florida’s a great place to be, to live, to do business, to retire. We need to build off the success that Florida’s enjoyed, and if you have a guy like this — and that being a socialist-style agenda — that’s going to absolutely destroy all the progress that Florida’s made.”

DeSantis and Gillum are competing for the seat held by Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who can’t seek re-election due to term limits and is instead challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson

AP 

Blogs

AKON’S CITY IS A BUST

AKON’S CITY IS A BUST

Akon’s futuristic city in Senegal is not happening. The country has taken back the land for the multi-billion-dollar project, which was going to be called Akon City.Senegal will use the land for a resort built with private funding.Last year, Akon was given two weeks to start construction. After there was no movement, and Akon missed…

CRAIG ROBINSON LEAVING COMEDY

CRAIG ROBINSON LEAVING COMEDY

Craig Robinson is leaving comedy.In a recent post on Instagram, The Office actor shared that he’s giving up comedy to focus on “something bigger.”“Life update: I’m officially quitting comedy to focus on my true calling. Stay tuned. I’m working on something huge,” he wrote in the video caption.He teased what his next venture might be in a follow-up…

ANOTHER RECORD FOR SZA AND KENDRICK

ANOTHER RECORD FOR SZA AND KENDRICK

Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour brought in some serious cash. Billboard reports that Grand National is the highest-grossing co-headlining tour ever. The outing has grossed $254.6 million with 1.1 million tickets sold from 23 shows. By comparison, JAY-Z and Beyoncé‘s On the Run II Tour is the only other joint tour to hit…

LEBRON JAMES IS NOT RETIRING

LEBRON JAMES IS NOT RETIRING

LeBron James, 40, isn’t ready to retire yet. King James is staying with the Los Angeles Lakers for another season and he’s set to head into his 23rd NBA season. He’s been playing for the Lakers since 2018 and he won an NBA Championship with the team in 2020. Now, he’s hoping for another one…