President Donald Trump criticized Joe Biden as a ‘worn out politician’ as he kicked off a series of campaign rallies in critical battleground states on Saturday.
He mocked his Democratic rival for holding drive-in rallies instead of traditional ones during the coronavirus pandemic.
‘People in cars – I don’t get it. I’ve never seen so few cars,’ Trump said. ‘And the cars weren’t in a circle. They were too close together. They weren’t socially distanced.’
‘It was a tiny little crowd. You head a couple of horns – honk, honk,’ he added.
The Biden campaign has been intentionally holding smaller rallies during the coronavirus pandemic and many of them have people stay in their cars. Biden held a drive-in event in Bristol, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
: ‘I wish I could go car to car to meet you all. I don’t like the idea of all this distance, but it’s necessary,’ Biden told his supporters. ‘What we don’t want to do is become super-spreaders.’
President Trump repeated his attacks on Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden, during his event. He claimed Hunter Biden made millions from contacts in Russia, the Ukraine and China because his father was vice president.
‘The son had no job, no nothing. Unfortunately was forced out of the military, and all of a sudden he’s making millions of dollars,’ Trump said.
‘His father is in charge of three,’ Trump said referring to Russia, China and Ukraine.
The crowd roared in response ‘lock him up.’
President Donald Trump criticized Joe Biden as a ‘worn out politician’ as he kicked off a series of campaign rallies in critical battleground states
President Donald Trump talked to the Lumbee Indian tribe in North Carolina
Trump supporters on the Robeson County Fairgrounds
President Trump held an event with a few thousand people in North Carolina
The president also attacked Biden for saying he wouldn’t end fracking. One of Trump’s campaign arguments against Biden is his claim the Democrat would end the practice that involves injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc. so as to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas.
‘He’s either crazy or the worst liar,’ Trump said of Biden’s claims he said he wouldn’t end the practice, which is used in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Trump was courting the Lumbee Indian Tribe during his event. There were several ‘Lumbees for Trump’ signs in the crowd. Trump said he would sign the Lumbee Recognition Act once he was re-elected.
‘This isn’t a traditional rally. These are short, concentrated remarks that will generally focus on his vision for Native American communities and the forgotten men and women of North Carolina,’ a senior administration official said.
The Lumbee Tribe, which is the largest tribe in North Carolina, the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River and the ninth largest in the nation.
‘On November 3 we will make sure the forgotten men and women are never forgotten again,’ President Trump said.
‘I’m fighting for every American of every background race, color, and tribe,’ he said to cheers.
He claimed the Obama administration abandoned Native Americans.
‘Under this administration, you will never be abandoned I will always stand proudly with our incredible Native American community,’ he said.
He also said Native Americans were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
‘Indian country has been hit very hard by the China plague,’ he said.
Trump’s first of three campaign rallies on Saturday was billed as ‘Fighting for the Forgotten Men and Women.’
it took place on the Robeson County Fairgrounds on a hot and sunny day. A drum beat played in the background as the president spoke.
‘I love the sound of the drum,’ Trump said.
The president threatened to cut his rally time down because of the heat and joked the sun might make his hair ‘even more blonde.’
‘You mind if I keep this one about one-third because I’m going to be one hell of a burned person,’ the president said. ‘Anyone got some sun protection for your president?’
President Trump and Biden are essentially tied in this critical battleground state. Biden leads by 1.5 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average of North Carolina.
‘I’ve been back here so many times it might as well be my new home state,’ he told the crowd on Saturday.
Trump won the state by 3 points in 2016 and is focused on keeping it in his corner. In addition to his multiple campaign visits, Ivanka Trump campaigned in North Carolina earlier this week.
President Trump mocked the size of the drive-in rallies Joe Biden is holding
Biden supporters at a drive-in rally in Bristol, Pennsylvania, on Saturday
A Biden Harris sign at Biden’s Saturday car rally
The president was in Gastonia, North Carolina, on Wednesday for a campaign rally where there was little social distancing and mask wearing. At least 23,000 people packed the Gastonia Municipal Airport and state health officials told local media they were concerned the campaign trips could led to a spike in COVID cases.
Coronavirus cases are on the rise in the state.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported on Friday a record high of 2,716 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,400 the day before.
Trump claimed there wasn’t a vaccine ready because of ‘politics’ and said Biden would delay any vaccine effort.
‘Now we’re bringing her back if Joe Biden and his Democratic socialists gain power. They will delay the vaccine which is happening and we got it coming really soon. In fact, if it weren’t for politics i wouldn’t be surprised it would have been here before,’ he said.
President Trump is on a Saturday campaign spree after casting his ballot in person in Florida Saturday morning. Early voting has started in his home state, which the president needs to win if he wants a second term in the White House.
‘I voted for a guy named Trump,’ he told reporters afterward.
With less than two weeks to go both Trump and Biden are on the campaign trail with their running mates and surrogates spread out across the country to rally voters ahead of November 3.
Trump has sounded confident he will win a second term.
‘Take a look at all how returns coming in. We’re supposed to be behind until the wave, right,’ he told reporters on Air Force One on Friday evening. ‘We’re not way behind. We’re way ahead. We’re way ahead of where we were four years ago. And the wave is going to be much bigger than it was and there’s more enthusiasm now than we ever had four years ago. Four years ago it was amazing.’
The president voted for himself at the Palm Beach County Main Library Saturday morning telling reporters it was a ‘very secure vote’ and warning that when you send in your ballot by mail ‘you cannot have security like this’.
President Trump arrived in North Carolina on Saturday as part of three-state campaign swing
President Donald Trump, who has railed against mail-in voting, cast his ballot in person on Saturday near his Florida home
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said there was no one else in the ballot station room voting at the same time as the president and confirmed he cast a paper ballot.
Several supporters had gathered on the stretch of road just outside Trump’s Palm Beach estate and right around the library cheering ‘four more years’ and waving Trump 2020 signs ahead of his appearance.
After his North Carolina stop, the president has two more rallies – in Ohio and Wisconsin – as continues to court voters with 10 days until Election Day.
Biden spent Saturday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania – another critical battleground state. Running mate Kamala Harris was in Ohio and former President Barack Obama campaigned for him in Florida.