United States President Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail Monday for a rally in the must-win state of Florida after being hospitalised with COVID-19 and after his physician confirmed he was no longer at risk of spreading the deadly virus.
This is as new coronavirus cases hit a two-month high nationwide on Friday with 58 000 infections while the country averages around 700 deaths per day.
Trump’s return to the campaign trail also comes amid a focus to the United States Senate that has begun hearings to confirm conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court after the death of liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last month.
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll confirms what other high quality polls have shown, Joe Biden with a commanding 12-point lead nationally, the best numbers for any challenger since 1936.
An urgency not lost on the Trump campaign, with four rallies planned in key swing states in four days: Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and North Carolina.
On Saturday he urged his supporters go come out in their numbers to make their mark.
“Get out and vote. We’ve got to vote these people into oblivion. Vote them into oblivion. Got to get rid of them. So bad for our country. First of all, I’m feeling great. I don’t know about you. How is everyone feeling? And I’m honored to welcome – we call this a peaceful protest – to the White House in support of the incredible men and women of law enforcement and all of the people that work so well with us and I have to tell you, our Black community, our Hispanic community, thank you very much.”
Coronavirus
Twitter on Sunday flagged a Presidential tweet for spreading misleading and potentially harmful information after Trump claimed he was now immune from COVID-19, a false claim not backed by medical evidence – as the pandemic remains front and centre.
In the video below, President Trump says the country is making progress in dealing with coronavirus:
“America deserves a president who understands what people are going through. You’re facing real challenges right now, and the last thing you need is a president who exacerbates them. More than 210 000 are dead, as was pointed out. We lose anywhere from 700 to a thousand people a day – dead. He says ‘It is what it is,” says Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden.
Supreme court nominee
In a week where eyes will be trained on the Senate Judiciary Committee for a contentious hearing to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Democrats believe should have been made a winner of the election given that more than 7 million ballots have already been cast in early voting is Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
“The president has nominated me to serve on the United States Supreme Court, and that institution belongs to all of us. If confirmed, I would not assume that role for the sake of those in my own circle and certainly, not for my own sake. I would assume this role to serve you. I would discharge the judicial oath, which requires me to administer justice without respect to persons, do equal right to the poor and rich, and faithfully and impartially discharge my duties under the United States Constitution, ” Barrett said at her nomination ceremony in late September.
Heightening concerns that earlier court judgments on abortion and same sex marriage could be under threat, with Democratic VP Nominee Senator Kamala Harris expected to play a leading role in questioning the judicial nominee.
“The issues before us couldn’t be more serious. There’s the issue of choice. And I will always fight for a woman’s right to make a decision about her own body. It should be her decision and not that of Donald Trump and the vice president, Michael Pence.”
Election Day fast approaching
And with just 22 days to Election Day, time to shift the dynamics in this race is running out fast.
The Trump campaign will be hoping that crisscrossing the country with their rejuvenated candidate will begin to narrow the margins in this election. They have long insisted that their internal polling shows a much tighter race nationally and in swing states where Trump’s also been trailing the Democratic challenger.
