First lady stumps for husband; Sanders campaigns for Biden
WEST BEND - First lady Melania Trump courted Republican voters in southeastern Wisconsin on Saturday, lauding the predawn rescue of an American hostage in Niger and defending President Donald Trump’s oft-criticized handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at Kingsheart Farm in West Bend on the final weekend before Tuesday’s election, Melania Trump announced the rescue of American Philip Walton by U.S. Navy SEALs, drawing cheers from the crowd of about 100 people.
“Our U.S. special forces conducted a successful rescue operation in West Africa,” she said, thanking those who pulled off the raid and their “international partners.”
The first lady moved quickly onto the key themes of the Trump campaign — the pandemic, school choice and criticizing the Democratic candidates — though in a quieter style far different from her husband’s.
She criticized former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, as “career politicians.” She said Democrats have politicized the pandemic and that they “project fear and doubt purely for political reasons.”
“Joe Biden said it would be a dark winter. That is not a statement from a leader,” Trump said. “He wants to make us hide in fear in our basements, rather than work bravely in our communities to find lasting solutions.”
Trump said her husband’s administration was committed to finding a vaccine and admonished those who she said “cast doubt on the potential effectiveness of a vaccine just because it would come under my husband’s leadership.”
“You’re not alone,” Trump told the crowd. “We started this challenging journey together, and we will not stop working until we have found a vaccine or effective treatment for everyone.”
Unlike many of those at the president’s rallies, most of those who turned out Saturday wore masks. Trump’s visit came as the state logged a record 5,278 COVID-19 cases on Saturday and the death toll rose above 2,000 for the first time.
‘Turn the page’ on Trump
With just days left before Election Day, the campaigns have been making their final pushes in the battleground state. Both Trump and Biden were in Wisconsin on Friday, and Trump is scheduled to be in Kenosha on Monday.
As Melania Trump was speaking in West Bend, two-time presidential contender and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, IVt., urged hundreds of students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and across the state to work hard to turn out the vote for Biden and Harris on Tuesday.
“We need to turn this page on Donald Trump,” Sanders said in a virtual presentation.
Sanders said it was “imperative” to defeat Trump, calling him “the most dangerous president that this country has ever had.”
“This is a president who is a pathological liar,” Sanders said. “He lies all the time. He cannot control himself.”
Sanders said that on Friday “we had more (COVID-19) cases than ever before and Trump is on the campaign trail saying we are turning the corner on the pandemic. That is a lie.”
He touted Biden’s policies on jobs and the economy, health care and combating climate change.
And Sanders said Americans face a crucial choice.
“It’s not just Biden vs. Trump,” he said. “It is about retaining American democracy. Maybe you think I’m overstating that, but I’m not. You really have a president that does not believe in our Constitution, doesn’t believe in the separation of powers.”
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, whose district includes Madison, also spoke to the students and made a pitch to not become complacent ahead of the election.
“We may be doing all right in the polls,” Pocan said. “But polls don’t vote. People vote.”