- April 25, 2024
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An independent pro-Trump club has been denounced by the Flagler County Republican Executive Committee and the Flagler Trump Club for sending out mailers, ads and social media posts attacking Palm Coast mayoral candidate Alan Lowe and City Council candidate Victor Barbosa.
The club, called "Trump Team 2020," is not an official Trump campaign organization and is headed by Annie Marie Delgado, a former Palm Beach Gardens city commissioner.
But its electioneering materials — including mailers that "grade" candidates on whether they're sufficiently pro-Trump— have relegated to small print a disclaimer that the club is not affiliated with the campaign. Some Trump Team 2020 mailers in other counties arrived labeled, "Official Trump Team 2020 Florida Voter Guide."
One ad from the club, criticizing Lowe and Barbosa, ran in the Oct. 29 print edition of the Palm Coast Observer.
Trump Team 2020 has drawn the ire of the Republican Party of Florida — and letters from the Trump campaign's legal team demanding that Trump Team 2020 stop presenting itself in a manner that invites conflation with the Trump campaign itself.
Flagler County Republican Executive Committee Chair Jearlyn Dennie has issued a news release denouncing the group.
"The Flagler County Republican Party, in solidarity with the Republican Party of Florida and the Donald J. Trump for President campaign, denounces Annie Marie Delgado also known as Trump Team 2020 Florida LLC and Trump Team 2020 PC," the Flagler County REC news release states. "Over the past few weeks, mailers, social media post, text messages, phone calls and televised commercials have been used to mislead Flagler County voters. Trump Team 2020 PC is not affiliated with the Flagler County Republican Committee, the Republican Party of Florida, the Donald J. Trump for President campaign, or Trump Victory. This dishonest organization has been shamefully deceiving Flagler County voters into believing President Trump is supporting one candidate over another in the Palm Coast mayoral or city council races. Voters are urged to disregard any information obtained from this illicit source."
The language in the Flagler County REC news release echoes a tweet from the official Republican Party of Florida account in August, which stated: "Trump Team 2020 Florida LLC, and its leader Annie Marie Delgado, are not affiliated with the RPOF, the Donald J. Trump for President campaign or Trump Victory. This dishonest organization is a distraction to the hard work being done across our state."
The Flagler Trump Club has also issued a news release calling Trump Team 2020 a deceptively named "repulsive operation."
Delgado responded with her own new release, stating that Dennie "maliciously and falsely claims that 'The Flagler County Republican Party, in solidarity with the Republican Party of Florida and the Donald J. Trump for President campaign, denounces Annie Marie Delgado also known as Trump Team 2020 Florida LLC and Trump Team 2020 PC.'"
However, the Republican Party of Florida has publicly denounced "Trump Team 2020," while lawyers for the Trump campaign itself have twice issued letters demanding that Delgado immediately halt her "knowing and/or reckless perpetuation of the falsehood that you and the Club are affiliated in any way with the Campaign."
Delgado goes on to state that Dennie's assertion that Trump Team 2020 was "shamefully deceiving voters" into believing that Trump was supporting particular local candidates was false, adding that Trump Team 2020 was "informing Flagler voters" about Lowe's record because Lowe had once tried to renounce his citizenship and had not voted until 2020.
"To date we have successfully registered thousands and thousands of Republicans with the mission of re-electing President Donald J. Trump," Delgado's news release states, "and we have helped organize pro-Trump rallies all over the state involving thousands of like-minded Trump activists showing their support of the president in trucks, cars, motorcycles, boats, golf carts and waving signs on street corners."
The Flagler Trump Club called on incumbent Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland, Lowe's competitor in the mayoral race, to denounce Trump Team 2020.
"I am solely focused on my own campaign," Holland stated in a text message to the Palm Coast Observer. "My team and I have been working extremely hard on earning votes by talking to voters about the issues that matter to our residents here in Palm Coast. With only a few days left until the election, I am not going to waste any time on any infighting within the Republican Party. As mayor I have always been focused on finding smart solutions and creating the best possible environment for our residents and families to live, work, and play. I am proud of the campaign I’ve run and look forward to earning the support of the voters for a second term.
Addressing allegations that she'd funded the Trump Team 2020 ads, Holland said, "Absolutely not." She noted that all of her campaign expenditures are listed on the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office website.
