It's killing Ed Pozzuoli that Donald Trump is poised to lose an election Republicans should be winning.
The weak American economy alone encourages a “throw the bums out” attitude among voters, and the “bum” in the White House happens to be a Democrat. Yet, so far, Trump has been unable to seize that advantage.
Pozzuoli, GOP political strategist for Fox News and president of the Fort Lauderdale law firm Tripp Scott, says Trump is even behind in Florida, an important target state that should be -- should be -- easy as pie for the GOP to nail down.
"The thing is, Donald Trump can take Florida handily," Pozzuoli claims. "There's still time, he can do it if he can stay on track and stay focused."
In a race against an extremely unpopular Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, at a time of flagging economic growth and weak wages, when an act of terrorism has just claimed 49 lives in Orlando, the Republicans should have a real electoral advantage in Florida and probably across the nation, he says.
Speaking to Sunshine State News in a telephone interview, Pozzuoli said Trump is can't-help-himself divisive and wanders off-message into some new controversy every week, sucking the oxygen out of his campaign, turning media attack dogs on himself instead of on the Democrats' failures.
If the GOP standardbearer wants Florida, all he has to do is pound away at those three things: Hillary, the economy and national security.
Pozzuoli elaborated: "In Florida the GDP (gross domestic product) has been flat for several quarters, the economy isn't growing and taxes and regulations are killing the American spirit for so many of our full-time residents, but especially for thousands of small businesses. Look at the mushrooming growth of regulations in any area of the environment you care to look at. Look at regulatory growth in employment.
"I hear from our clients all the time how many people here in Florida want to start or expand a business, but the yoke of regulations is a burden they can't carry."
Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and the Democrats want you to believe everything is sweetness and light, he said. "But the bad news isn't just bad, it's dramatically bad. In the last eight years, "we've seen nearly a 500 percent increase in federal regulations. Look at Obamacare. A 2,000-page law was bad enough. But there's a 25,000-page attachment to that, costly regulations ultimately passed on to consumers.
"People need to be reminded the bad news represents a big statistic," he said. "The percentage of Americans owning their own home is at its lowest point in 51 years. The percentage of participation in the workforce -- people with jobs -- is at its lowest in 40 years."
Add to all that the fact that Hillary Clinton's record as secretary of state is ripe for the plucking.
"Look at the mess she's left us with in Syria and Libya," Pozzuoli points out. "And do you feel good about the Iran nuclear deal? Do you like that she wants to continue on Obama's foreign policy path? Do you trust her judgment, this woman who conducted state business through private email servers that may or may not have been hacked? Shouldn't the American people know more about the Clinton Foundation? And now there's this $400 million payment in cash to Iran the same day Iran released four American prisoners. Is that keeping Americans safe?"
Acts of terrorism are increasing around the world. In every national poll comparing Trump and Clinton in the last six months, Trump has a double-digit lead over Clinton in "who makes you feel safer?"
Pozzuoli, former chairman of the Republican Party of Broward County, says emphasizing these bread and butter issues is the way you win Florida.
His advice to the Trump camp: Make it a drumbeat. The heat should be on Hillary, not on Donald. Focus, focus, focus. No matter what, don't deviate from the message.
No more sparring with Gold Star Muslim families, no more disparaging remarks about Hispanic judges, no more Jewish stars -- that's Pozzuoli's best advice. Each new scandal reignites questions about Trump’s fitness and judgment.
Winning Florida -- in fact, winning it all -- is doable.
"Donald Trump is uniquely positioned to talk about all those things," Pozzuoli told SSN. "If he stays on script, he accomplishes the two most important tasks. He puts big-time pressure on Hillary Clinton and he wins over people who right now are tired of Democratic rule in Washington and ready to hand the economic reigns to a Republican -- but doubt Trump's ability to govern."
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
