Trump news: President plays down record Covid spike as Obama mocks him for ending 60 Minutes interview
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Your support makes all the difference.The campaign heated up on Saturday with multiple events scheduled for both the Trump and Biden campaign, as Election Day draws closer with just 10 days left.
Mr Trump started his day by voting early in West Palm Beach, Florida. After he voted, the president claimed going to the polls was “much more secure” than mail-in voting. He’s used this rhetoric in the last couple of months to discourage Americans from choosing mail-in voting over going to the polls in person amid the coronavirus pandemic, claiming the method encourages fraud.
Then Mr Trump stopped in the battleground state of North Carolina for an afternoon rally in Lumberton. During the rally, the president claimed he won the last presidential debate by 91 per cent to 9 per cent without citing a specific pollster. Polls by CNN, Politico, and YouGov all have Democratic challenger Joe Biden as the winner of the debate.
After North Carolina, Mr Trump continued his tour of battleground states by stopping in Circleville, Ohio. He is scheduled to also speak in Wisconsin later this evening.
All three of these states are currently hotspot locations for the coronavirus with cases and hospitalisations increasing.
On Friday, the US hit the grim milestone of the most new coronavirus cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. Mr Trump belittled the milestone by claiming both at his rallies and in tweets that only cases were increasing, but hospitalisations are also on the rise in at least 33 states. Experts warn the mortality rate could soon follow.
Mr Biden was also on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania on Saturday. He held two rallies, and they involved him accusing the president of lying about the severity of the novel virus.
The former vice president’s campaign got an added boost with President Barack Obama campaigning for him in Miami, Florida, and singer Jon Bon Jovi campaigning for him in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court say ballots cannot be rejected based on signature comparisons
The decision by the state’s Supreme Court backed up guidance issued by the state’s chief elections officer heading up to the first mail voting presidential election.
This ruling is a defeat for President Donald Trump’s campaign and Republicans who had challenged the decision, arguing that signature matching was a necessary measure to prevent voter fraud.
“We conclude that the Election Code does not authorise or require county election boards to reject absentee or mail-in ballots during the canvassing process based on an analysis of a voter’s signature,” the state wrote.
1.5 million Pennsylvanian’s have already submitted their voting ballots, according to the US Elections Project.
This is a significant number in a state where 6.2 million voted in 2016. This battleground state does not permit ballot counting until the day of the election, on 3 November, meaning the outcome will not be known immediately.
Texas appeal rules Republican governor cannot limit ballot drop boxes for US election
A Texas appeals court on Friday ruled the Republican governor cannot limit drop-off sites for mail ballots to one per county.
This ruling is another setback for President Donald Trump to restrict voting in the run up the US election.
Upholding a lower court decision, the appeals court ruled against Texas Governor Greg Abbott. They agreed that limiting the number of drop boxes would increase the risk that voters could get infected with COVID-19 while infringing on their right to vote.
Abbott informed voting rights groups opposing his move to limit drop boxes that he intends to quickly appeal Friday's ruling which will further delay the re-opening of ballot drop-off locations.
Trump repeatedly criticised mail-in ballots, making unfounded claims they will lead to widespread fraud.
Trump promises pandemic will end soon during Florida rally
President Donald Trump on Friday promised his supporters at a rally in Florida that the coronavirus pandemic would end soon before accusing Democratic rival Joe Biden of overstating the health crisis to scare Americans into voting for him.
The pandemic has killed more than 223,000 people in the United States, cost millions more their jobs and has taken centre stage in both candidates campaigns, with Trump largely on the defensive over his handling of the crisis.
Trump spoke at the first of two rallies planned on Friday in the battleground state of Florida. In the aftermath of the presidential debate, he mocked Biden for saying that the US was entering a "dark winter."
Trump instead projected that "We're going to quickly end this pandemic."
Speaking in The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in central Florida, Trump claimed: "Normal life will fully resume."
Former President Barack Obama, with whom Biden served as vice president for eight years, is due to campaign in in the pivotal Florida state on Saturday.
Trump supporter appears to make white supremacist sign at Florida rally
Though Trump may have claimed during Thursday’s debate that he was the “least racist person in this room,” one of his supporters at Friday’s rally appeared to repeatedly flash the white power hand sign behind the president as he spoke.
The Trump Campaign have not immediately responded to the incident at The Villages, a sprawling retirement complex in Florida.
A similar incident occured in June also at The Villages, where a heated exchange was observed between pro and anti Trump demonstrators as a Trump supporter repeatedly proclaimed “Trump 2020” and “white power.”
The OK hand symbol observed resembles the letters W and P, for white power, and was ironically first used in 2017 and un-ironically since.
'I think we're leading in a lot of states you don't know about’ Trump said, trailing behind in recent polls
Opinion polls show President Donald Trump trailing behind Joe Biden both nationally and, by a narrower margin, in several of the pivotal battleground states that will decide who sits in the White House.
However, Trump has said these polls vastly underestimate his support.
"I think we're leading in a lot of states you don't know about," he told reporters at the White House.
Both candidates have showered attention on Florida with Trump holding a last-minute rally in Fort Lauderdale on Friday.
Though a must-win state for Trump, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll found Biden had moved into a slight lead after being in a statistical tie a week earlier.
Meanwhile, Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien has said the race is tightening in Minnesota with the campaign due to buy more television advertising there. Opinion polls show Biden leading in the state.
Trump addressed thousands gathered in The Villages on Friday and said he expected to do up to five rallies a day during the last stretch of the election.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll also showed the candidates tied in Arizona with 51 per cent nationally backing Biden.
Trump campaign putting more money into Minnesota
The Republican campaign has said it will target Minnesota with increased ads, less than two weeks before election day.
In a last-ditch attempt to seize the Democrat stronghold that Trump narrowly missed winning in 2016, campaign manager Bill Stepien said internal polling demonstrated a “tightening race” and that the campaign would redirect advertising budget into the state.
“We see a real opportunity,” Stepien said. “The new buy is going to be a heavy buy – emphasise heavy. You won’t be able to turn on the TV without seeing a Trump ad.”
The Trump campaign has previously said that they see Minnesota as having a key part in their possible re-election, but for months, Biden has maintained a strong lead in the state, which has not been won by a Republican candidate since 1972.
The campaign has booked an additional $508,000 (£389,410) in air time with broadcasters in the state and the first commercials will begin to be shown on Saturday.
Hilary Clinton won Minnesota by just 44,600 votes in 2016.
Trump expected to cast vote in Florida
President Donald Trump plans to cast an early vote on Saturday in West Palm Bach, according to officials.
This will be the first time an incumbent president will cast his vote in Florida.
Trump passed absentee ballots in the March presidential primary and in the August primary election.
Meanwhile, vice president Mike Pence and wife Karen Pence cast their votes on Friday in Indianapolis, using absentee ballots requested in early September.
Trump balloting in Palm Beach County this weekend will be part of a historic political weekend in the state, which has so far seen the president speak at The Villages and in Pensacola in his battle to win the pivotal battleground.
Delaware voters won’t be forced to wear masks while casting ballot
Despite Delaware Governor John Carney’s requirement for all residents to wear face coverings in public, voters not wearing masks will be allowed to enter polling stations and cast their ballots on Election Day.
Masks are strongly encouraged, but not required when voting. Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence states the decision was made in consultation with the state Department of Justice.
Albence said that while election officials want to provide a safe environment, voting is a fundamental right and described the rule as "trying to balance everyone’s needs and everyone’s concerns."
"We don’t deny anyone’s right to vote if they don’t wear a mask," Albence said. "We really strongly encourage it. It is not an absolute requirement."
US sees record high in covid cases as Biden continues to attack Trump’s handling of the pandemic
The US reached a worrying milestone in the coronavirus pandemic yesterday, with a record number of 83,000 cases being recorded in a single day.
Meanwhile, the death toll grew to 223,995, according to John Hopkins University.
States continue to offer different approaches to tackling the rising numbers, with a lockdown in parts of South Dakota and states including Alabama and California have a mandatory mask wearing order
Northern Idaho are considering airlifting patients to Seattle or Oregon.
However, during the final presidential debate, Donald Trump insisted the US is “turning a corner” and is “learning to live” with the virus.
In response, Biden said “Anyone who’s responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America.”
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