[ad_1]
US President Donald Trump held a campaign rally-style event at the White House on Saturday, in his first public appearance since leaving the hospital following his coronavirus diagnosis.
The event immediately sparked accusations that Trump was using the presidential office to promote his own re-election campaign, while also putting hundreds of people’s lives in danger due to his recent Covid-19 diagnosis.
Upon reaching the cries of “USA, USA” When he appeared on the White House balcony to the tune of Hail the Boss, Trump attacked his presidential rival Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
“We cannot allow our country to become a socialist country,” he cheered, warning that Democrats would open “their border to mass immigration.”
“If the left wins power, it will launch a national crusade against law enforcement, taking away their funds, their firearms and their fundamental authorities,” he said. “It is time for all Americans to stand up and reject the smear campaign against our police.”
Trump was addressing a group of supporters attending an independent Back the Blue event in Washington DC, designed to describe support for law enforcement officers.
US President Donald Trump addresses law and order to supporters on the South Portico of the White House. Photograph: Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty
No social distancing
Most people wore distinctive Back the Blue t-shirts and red Make America Great Again caps. During the speech, they periodically erupted into shouts of “We Love You” and “Four More Years.”
While some wore masks, no social distancing was observed as supporters gathered on the South Lawn of the White House. Trump administration officials insisted the event did not violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from participating in political activity because no Trump re-election campaign personnel were involved in the event.
Declaring next month’s election “the most important election in our country’s history,” Trump told the crowd, “we have a level of support like no one has ever seen.”
“We got a great survey in Florida. We got a great poll in North Carolina. We got a great poll in Nevada. Georgia looks fantastic. Texas looks fantastic. . . We got a great poll in Texas and great polls all over the place and they get it. “
Trump’s optimistic assessment of his reelection chances came when multiple polls show his opponent Joe Biden has a double-digit lead over the president nationally.
Trump also renewed his criticism of the absentee voting system, amid signs that large numbers of Americans plan to vote by mail this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Have you seen how many crooked votes. . . Fraudulent ballots? ”He said, stating that there were“ tremendous problems with the ballots. Every day there is a story about the ballots ”.
But he added: “I think we are going to sink them so much that it won’t matter.”
US President Donald Trump speaks on law and order from the South Portico of the White House in Washington, DC on Saturday. Photograph: Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty
Scale bottom
Trump’s first public appearance since returning from the White House from Walter Reed Medical Center last Monday comes before his planned return to the election campaign on Monday, when he is due to hold a rally in Florida.
The president also gave his first television interview on Friday night to Fox News, where he told the network’s medical expert, Dr. Mark Siegel, that he was no longer taking drugs for Covid.
“I am at the bottom of the scale or I am free,” he said of the coronavirus. While the pre-recorded segment had been billed as a “medical evaluation” of the president by the right-wing network, it was largely a traditional interview, although Siegel did ask the president a series of questions. However, he did not ask when Trump had last tested negative, a key indicator of whether the president may still be infectious.
Meanwhile, it was announced on Saturday that the second presidential debate between Trump and Biden that was to take place in Miami will not continue.
The Committee on Presidential Debates, the independent body that leads the debates, said it was canceling one-on-one for security reasons. Trump refused to participate in a virtual debate as proposed by the commission on Thursday, accusing the body of “trying to protect Biden.” Instead, Biden will participate in a televised event at ABC’s town hall on Thursday, his campaign said.
Biden was due to hold an event in Erie, Pennsylvania on Saturday, a county that voted for Donald Trump in 2016, but Democrats hope to win on November 3. The former vice president has spent the past few days campaigning in Arizona and Nevada, where Democrats hope to make headway in the election.
[ad_2]