BIDEN, TRUMP PLAN CAMPAIGN EVENTS
President trails Democratic rival by 12 points in poll
Former vice president Joe Biden held a virtual fundraiser Sunday, while President Donald Trump has no scheduled public events. The president appeared Sunday morning on Fox News Channel for an interview, during which he claimed that he is not taking medication and has “a protective glow” following his COVID-19 diagnosis.
The interview comes as Biden leads Trump 54 percent to 42 percent among likely voters nationally, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Trump has not managed to close the gap with Biden during a tumultuous period of events that included the first presidential debate, the debate between Vice President Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Trump’s hospitalization after testing positive for coronavirus. In fact, the race has changed little over a period of months, with voters seemingly impervious to the f lood of news and controversies.
National polls reflect the status of the popular vote and not the state-by-state contests for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Post-ABC polls of battleground states, as well as other public polls, show Biden with an advantage in that competition as well, though the state margins generally are narrower, and some states are considered toss-ups. Still, no candidate has won an electoral-college majority while losing the popular vote by a margin like Trump’s current deficit.
Preferences among independent voters appear to have shifted considerably compared with 2016, with independent voters favoring Biden by 52 percent to 40 percent. By contrast, Trump beat Hillary Clinton among self-identified independent voters by four points, according to 2016 network exit polls.
The gender gap is hugely evident in the suburbs, which both campaigns have targeted. Suburban women favor Biden by 62 percent to 34 percent; suburban men lean toward Trump, with 54 percent supporting his re-election, while 43 percent back Biden. Overall, that gives Biden a slight 53 percent to 44 percent edge among all suburban voters.
Trump leads by 26 points among White voters without four-year college degrees, which is smaller than his 36point advantage in 2016, according to a Pew survey of confirmed voters. Biden holds a 31-point lead with White college graduates, which is much better than Clinton’s performance among this group.
Meanwhile, Biden will hold two events in Ohio today, the same day that Trump will hold his first campaign rally since he announced his positive coronavirus diagnosis.
Biden will first deliver “Build Back Better” remarks in Toledo and hold a voter mobilization event in Cincinnati at 5:45 p.m.
Trump is expected to deliver remarks at an airport hangar in Sanford, Fla.
In a phone interview on Fox News Channel, Trump said he is no longer on any medication, is “in very good shape” and has a “protective glow” after testing positive for the coronavirus more than a week ago.
Trump told host Maria Bartiromo that he no longer has COVID-19, even though the White House doctor has yet to reveal whether the president has tested negative since contracting the virus.
“Yes,” Trump said when asked whether he no longer has COVID-19. “And not only that, it seems like I’m immune. So I can go way out of a basement. … So the president is in very good shape to fight the battles.”
Trump also dismissed concerns about Saturday’s event at the White House, arguing that the closest person to him was “probably a couple of hundred feet away.”
“Even yesterday, I knew I was free,” Trump said. “I beat this crazy, horrible China virus. … I passed the highest test, the highest standards.” He added: “The word ‘immunity’ means something; having a protective glow means something. … I’m not on any medication.”
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, panned the decision by the Commission on Presidential Debates to cancel the second debate between Trump and Biden.
The nonpartisan commission called off the debate after disagreement over the format. The commission had announced that the town hall-style debate would take place virtually amid uncertainty about Trump’s infectiousness following his recent diagnosis. But Trump said he would not participate in a virtual debate.
“Voters are frustrated by the corrupt debate commission, that they would cancel a second debate,” McDaniel said.