Trump blasts rival Biden

JOHNSTOWN - President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden fanned out to critical battleground states on Tuesday as the presidential race entered a final, intense phase amid record numbers of early votes cast.

At a rally in Pennsylvania, Mr Trump blasted Mr Biden on his environmental and energy policies as a Reuters/ Ipsos poll showed him losing ground in the battleground state. Mr Biden stumped again in Florida, chasing the all-important senior vote as he faulted Mr Trump for his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Trump’s event in Johnstown was his second campaign event in two nights as he raced to make up time he lost while recovering from the virus.

He plans to hold rallies the rest of the week as he seeks to close what polls say is a significant gap with Mr Biden nationwide but a tighter one in some battleground states.

Mr Trump is battling the clock. Almost 12 million ballots have been cast so far, including more than 1.6 million in Florida, according to the US Elections Project at the University of Florida, shattering previous records.

The president accused Mr Biden of wanting to ban fracking, the process of extracting gas through hydraulic fracturing, which he said would damage the state’s economy.

“One of the most important issues for Pennsylvania is the survival of your fracking industry,” Mr Trump told the crowd, some of whom sported red-and-blue MAGA masks.

“Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to abolish fracking. He’s a liar.”

The Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday showed Mr Biden with a 7-point lead in Pennsylvania, up from 5 points a week earlier.