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The rally in Erie was another attempt to solidify support in a state that was critical to the president’s success in 2016, but where he has struggled in the polls against Biden.
Trump criticized the energy policies of his Democratic opponent, repeating a false claim that Biden supports a total ban on fracking, a major industry in the state.
In what Trump said was the first time at one of his campaign rallies, he showed on large video screens a montage of various clips in which Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, discussed the removal. phasing out of fossil fuels to combat climate change.
“If Biden is elected, he will kill his energy industry,” the president said.
Trump also offered a litany of false claims about Biden’s position on the coronavirus, saying his opponent would “delay therapies, postpone the vaccine, prolong the pandemic.” He insisted the United States was “turning the pandemic around,” even though the virus is increasing across the country, including in Pennsylvania, where new cases over the past week have risen 42 percent more than average. two weeks earlier, according to a New York Times database, a level the state has not seen since April.
Trump had another warning for voters there: that Biden, whom he calls “Sleepy Joe,” would not entertain them the way he has. “If you want depression, doom and despair, vote for Sleepy Joe,” he said. “And boredom.”
Seeming to acknowledge his electoral deficit, the president sighed for the days before the coronavirus when his electoral prospects seemed at least somewhat brighter. Before “the plague” came, he said, “I wasn’t going to Erie. I mean, I have to be honest, there’s no way I’m going. I didn’t have to. “He added,” We had this won. “
Trump was expected to join first lady Melania Trump in her first public appearance since contracting the coronavirus.
