The Florida midterms took a surprising twist when several recounts were announced. One of the races getting another look is the governor's race, where a machine recount will determine the winner of the Andrew Gillum/Ron DeSantis race. The recount is expected to conclude on November 18.
Although Gillum conceded the race on election night, after rumblings of the recount surfaced, he reversed his position and began advocating to make sure every single vote was counted.
President Donald Trump wasn't happy about this.
Mayor Gillum conceded on Election Day and now Broward County has put him “back into play.” Bill Nelson conceded Election – now he’s back in play!? This is an embarrassment to our Country and to Democracy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 9, 2018
"This is an embarrassment to our Country and to Democracy!" the president tweeted on Friday.
Trump has a history of antagonizing the Florida gubernatorial candidate, and well, he's got the right one.
Gillum turned Trump's tweet on its head, and responded, "What's embarrassing to democracy is not counting every vote — and you, of course."
What’s embarrassing to democracy is not counting every vote — and you, of course.
Count every vote. https://t.co/ZfrBBcymrg
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) November 9, 2018
Mic dropped.
Back in October, about a week before Election Day, Trump called Gillum a "thief" and contrasted him with "Harvard/Yale educated man" Ron DeSantis in clearly racist language.
In Florida there is a choice between a Harvard/Yale educated man named @RonDeSantisFL who has been a great Congressman and will be a great Governor – and a Dem who is a thief and who is Mayor of poorly run Tallahassee, said to be one of the most corrupt cities in the Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
Gillum wasn't here for it then either, even calling out Trump for being passive-aggressive and not including his Twitter name in the tweet:
On Twitter there is a choice between having the courage to @ the person you are trash talking, or not. @realDonaldTrump is howling because he's weak. Florida, go vote today. https://t.co/I8uOokptJA
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) October 29, 2018
It wasn't the first time Gillum used the line on Trump. When the president called him out in August, Gillum responded with a similar tweet:
What our state and country needs is decency, hope, and leadership. If you agree, join us at https://t.co/fm0ODFFGWU. Also, @ me next time, @realDonaldTrump. https://t.co/59dQy8RLsm
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) August 29, 2018
Now, check these out:
Andrew Gillum Could Still Be Florida’s Governor As A Machine Recount Is Now Confirmed
Ben Jealous And Andrew Gillum Lose Gubernatorial Races And Other Election Night Upsets