A group called Rural America 2020 got creative while spreading its message on Election Day.
With Pennsylvania being a key swing state in the Electoral College race between Biden and Donald Trump, Rural America spoke directly to the hearts of both Philadelphia Eagles fans and Cowboys haters in the state.
The group paid for a plane to fly a banner over Philadelphia that reads “Trump <3s Jerry Jones & the Cowboys.”
In October, the Cowboys owner expressed support for Trump when the president was diagnosed with COVID-19.
“No one in the world has the ability to handle this COVID any better than the office of the President of the United States,” Jones said on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “I’m very confident he’ll be able to continue governing. Really, really I’m sure he’s anticipated this, knowing him. He’s the hardest worker you’ve ever seen. Knowing him, he’ll be able to go on right on through this and hopefully not miss a beat.”
Glenstone LP, a firm linked to Jones and registered at the same address as the Dallas Cowboys, donated more than $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, according to date from the Federal Election Commission.
By contrast, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was critical of the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, although he stopped short of calling out Trump by name.
“We have to own the questions of leadership and the questions about policies,” Lurie said in August. “There is a lot to be discussed here on that and in the future. It is heartbreaking. These are needless deaths. We should be similar to most countries on this planet, and yet, we are an embarrassment, a tragic embarrassment. That is where we stand.”
In 2018, the New York Times reported that Lurie slammed Trump in a meeting between NFL players, owners and other personnel, calling Trump’s presidency “disastrous” and saying “many of us have no interest in supporting President Trump.”
The Cowboys and Eagles are longtime NFC East rivals with Philadelphia beating Dallas 23-9 in a putrid Sunday Night Football game this week.
Rural America 2020 also paid for a more straight-forward banner that simply says, “Vote like your life depends on it.”
You can track the flight that is circling Philadelphia here.
