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US President Donald Trump called his Democratic rival Joe Biden “stupid” and claimed that the Republican leader lacked the “guts” to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic as the race for the White House entered its final stretch.
As Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris carried their campaign message to the decisive states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that must win, Trump called a surprise press conference at the White House.
In a carefree and complaint-laden performance, Trump once again scoffed at the possibility of a Covid-19 vaccine for Election Day Nov. 3, something experts say remains unlikely, and blamed his opponents of playing politics with a vaccine after Harris said she wouldn’t just take his word for it about her safety.
Promoting a spike in job creation after tens of millions lost jobs, and claiming that the United States is turning the pandemic around, he called Biden “stupid” and said he “wants to hand our country over to the virus. , wants to surrender. ” our families to the violent left-wing mafia, and wants to hand over our jobs to China. ”
Labor Day in the US traditionally kicks off the final campaign sprint, with less than two months to go, but rival campaigns have been brought down by multiple layers of turmoil, from the pandemic to the struggling US economy. and deep race riots. .
Candidates who would normally be hopping from one state to the next every day to speak to large crowds are limiting their movements and doing much more virtually.
Biden headed to the indecisive state of Pennsylvania, where he held a socially distant meeting with union leaders before answering questions from members of the huge AFL-CIO union at its headquarters.
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Addressing the event, he responded to Trump, accusing that he “did not have the guts to stand up to Covid.”
“We know he’s been great to his wealthy friends, but he’s not been so good to the rest of us,” charged Biden, who later attacked Trump for a report in The Atlantic magazine that has disparaged the military and its veterans.
“It’s downright anti-American,” Biden said.
Although Trump has dismissed the report as a “hoax,” he appears to have hit a nerve following a poll showing his support below that of Biden among active duty personnel.
“I’m not saying that the military (leadership) is in love with me, the soldiers are,” he told reporters at the White House.
Last week, Biden picked up the pace of the campaign but, citing the Covid-19 threat, he has been far more cautious than Trump, who at 74 has appeared before hundreds of supporters.
Still, polls show Biden holding a persistent lead over Trump, with the two increasingly targeting key Midwestern states like Wisconsin, where polls are closer, and where Hillary Clinton narrowly lost to Trump in 2016. .
Harris, in his highest-profile campaign outing yet, headed to the state where he followed in Biden’s footsteps by meeting the family of Jacob Blake, the African-American man whose shooting by police sparked widespread protests last month. .
The California senator spoke to Blake on the phone as he recovers in hospital. He later met with union members and black businessmen.
Black participation fell in Wisconsin in 2016 and could prove critical this year.
US Vice President Mike Pence also addressed the state to address an energy cooperative in the western town of La Crosse.
Trump supporters organize a caravan near Portland
Hundreds of Trump supporters gathered for a large caravan in support of the US president and police near Portland, where anti-racist activists have continuously clashed with law enforcement for more than 100 days.
Small groups of men laden with paramilitary gear, many of them belonging to far-right groups, milled through the crowd that was made up mainly of families and older people.
About 300 cars, including many pickup trucks, hit the roads surrounding Oregon City, about 50 km from Portland, before dispersing.
But between 150 and 200 people, led by members of the far-right Proud Boys militia, which defends white supremacy, decided to make their way to the Oregon capital, Salem, to make a show of force on the steps of the capitol building. state.
Hundreds of American flags flew over the caravan, often with banners calling for Trump’s re-election on November 3.
Images of Trump also occasionally appeared on the banners, depicting him as Rambo with a machine gun in hand.
Tensions in the Portland area escalated on Aug. 29 when Aaron Danielson, 39, a supporter of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, was shot and killed in the city.
He had just participated in a pro-Trump caravan and left the parade to go to Portland with other attendees.
A 48-year-old man named Michael Reinoehl, who claimed to be an “anti-fascist” on social media, was a suspect in the shooting. Five days later, the police shot him dead. Reinoehl allegedly tried to escape and grabbed a gun when he was killed.
Trump has noted that the city is besieged by “thugs” involved in “domestic terrorism,” although the demonstrations have been peaceful for the most part.
While protests have continued in Portland and many downtown businesses have bricked up their windows, the damage has been minimal and daily life remains calm, an AFP reporter said.
But Carol Williams, a longtime Republican activist, said downtown Portland “looks like a third world country with all the graffiti, the burns and the looting.”
“We do not defend violence, although we are accused of that,” he said.
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