Trump holds rally in battleground state of Pennsylvania
President Trump held a rally-style event in Pennsylvania Thursday night, as he tries to fan enthusiasm in a state he won in 2016 and hopes to win again in November. The president repeated his insistence that this is the most important election in the history of the country.
Mr. Trump, who last visited the state just about two weeks ago, spoke inside an aviation hangar, reiterating to voters that they should try to vote in person after they've voted by mail. Mr. Trump suggested the same thing in a tweet earlier this week. On Thursday, Mr. Trump suggested their mailed-in votes simply won't be counted if they are received later. Mr. Trump suggested that sending mailing mail-in ballots to voters unsolicited is unfair to Republicans because it'll cause apathetic voters who wouldn't vote otherwise to do so.
The president is centering his campaign on a message that America won't be safe under Joe Biden, after violent scenes unfolded in Portland and Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mr. Trump also made the case that the Democratic nominee would hurt fracking jobs.
"If you don't do fracking in Pennsylvania, 9,000 jobs and your energy bills will triple," Mr. Trump said. "Other than that, I don't think you should have it, okay? NO, but he said in the manifesto. Plus, he said many times. We put on the clip yesterday -- no fracking, no this no that. No guns. How about guns? No Second Amendment. Biden has pledged to appoint prosecutors who will extend these far left policies, nationwide."
Mr. Trump's preferred campaign style — massive indoor rallies with thousands of supporters — has been curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic. But he has tried to find ways to still gather supporters, both online and in person.
On Thursday, the president dismissed rumors that he suffered "mini-strokes," even though no reporter has reported that he suffered a stroke or mini-stroke. A CNN analyst floated the possibility of a stroke, to which Mr. Trump responded with tweets of his own.
Recent CBS News polling shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania, 52-46. A new Quinnipiac poll released Thursday also has Biden up in Pennsylvania, by eight points, though a Monmouth poll showed a slimmer margin of four points.
When the president was in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, in August — on the day Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination — he accused Biden of turning his back on his hometown of Scranton. "He abandoned Scranton," Mr. Trump said, adding, "he abandoned Pennsylvania" and "spent the last half century in Washington selling out our country and ripping off our jobs and letting other countries steal our jobs."
Mr. Trump and Biden are both expected to be in Pennsylvania on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks next week.
— Zack Hudak contributed to this report.