* “They do nothing without our approval.”–President Donald Trump on America’s relationship with South Korea.
* “There is very little evidence to suggest that Haley served Trump as an ‘adult in the room.’ She was an ally, an apologist and an acolyte of a man she once recognized as irresponsible. That’s not how able diplomats operate, and Nikki Haley will never be confused with an able diplomat.”–John Nichols, The Nation.
* “We are talking to the European Union again, we are talking to Japan again, and we are moving to what I have characterized as a trade coalition of the willing to confront China.”–Larry Kudlow, White House economic adviser.
* “They’re going to use these bilateral deals to strong-arm countries into lining up behind the U.S. on China. But when we get there, what’s the next step? I don’t know what the endgame is.”–Mary E. Lovely, Syracuse University economics professor and a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
* “The Fed’s going loco. … I think the Fed has gone crazy.”–President Donald Trump.
* “Free societies do not die overnight. The growth of a climate of intellectual fear is one sign of their weakening. So are the development of a personality cult, the stripping of meaning from language and the spread of disorientation.”–Roger Cohen, New York Times.
* “The new Democrats are radical socialists who want to model America’s economy after Venezuela. If Democrats win control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America. Government-run healthcare is just the beginning.”–Donald Trump.
* “Today, with President Donald Trump in office and some countries embracing explicitly nationalist policies, the United Nations has become the symbol of the fading internationalist dream. The choice between ‘America First’ and ‘the international community’ could hardly be starker.”–Martin Perez, former editor-in-chief of The New Republic.
*”While Democrats are largely ducking the topic on the campaign trail, few in Washington doubt that impeachment will be on the table if they win the House on Nov. 6.”–Peter Baker, New York Times.
* “Should American citizens get a new Bill of Rights for the internet? Given all the damage that tech companies have done, including the disaster of the week–a breach at Facebook that exposed tens of millions of accounts and maybe lots more–many Democrats think the answer is yes.”–Kara Swisher, editor at large for Recode, producer of the Recode Decode podcast.
* “From now until November 6th, we’re going to remind voters that they have the power to move the needle on issues like affordable health care, racial justice and climate change.”–Carly Cass, youth director for NextGen Florida, an offshoot of Tom Steyer’s NextGen America. NextGen Florida has registered more than 50,000 Floridians to vote ahead of next month’s general election.
* “The best time to get vaccinated is in October. It takes two weeks for the body to produce antibodies to fight the flu. You don’t want to get it too late.”–Dr. John Morrison, Florida Hospital family medicine physician.
* “Florida does have this kind of disaster amnesia. You’re in that build-disaster-rebuild mode like the old rinse-wash-repeat shampoo commercial.”–Steve Ellis, vice president of Washington-based, Taxpayers for Common Sense.
* “The president is not only inept, he’s prejudiced, he’s a narcissist, he’s angry, he’s not fit to be president. State attorneys general are a line of defense.”–Florida democratic attorney general candidate Sean Shaw.
* “If we’re going to continue the progress that we made under the last three governors of the state of Florida and Republican leadership, we’re going to need to elect Ron DeSantis as our next governor.”–Republican state Sen. Tom Lee of Brandon.
* “As governor, one of the things you have to do effectively is work constructively with the administration in Washington, and I think people running who say they want to impeach Trump, well, when you become governor and that’s your position, how the hell are you going to get anything done for us?”–Ron DeSantis.
* “What Tampa (Bay) has in common with other top 10 cities is that its employment base is growing, its population is growing and the result is an engine for continued economic prosperity.”–Mitch Roschelle, a partner at PwC US and co-author of “Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2019,” which ranked the top American markets for real estate in 2019. Dallas/Fort Worth was ranked no 1; no other Florida market made the top 10.
* “We have a huge transportation problem in this community. We bring people in here to the airport at 500 miles an hour, and then they just stop. We have do something about this.”–TIA CEO Joe Lopano.
* “If it passes there, I think it helps us talk about it here again.”–St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, on the ramifications of Hillsborough County passing a transportation sales tax.
* “I fully acknowledge the district’s funding issues are not our responsibilities. However, I cannot sit back and ignore the issues facing hundreds of thousands of our children.”–Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan, on how the county can help the school district tackle its air-conditioning crisis and other critical maintenance priorities.
* “I was shocked. They’ve endorsed me in 10 previous elections since 1992.”–Hillsborough County Republican Commissioner Victor Crist, in response to not getting the endorsement of the Greater Tampa Realtors.