Storm clouds hang over Trump’s attempted reboot of campaign
MIAMI — Friday was supposed to be the day President Donald Trump’s campaign reboot itself got a reboot. Instead, it hit another snag.
Amid uncertainty over whether he can still draw big and enthusiastic crowds to his signature rallies in the coronavirus era, Trump postponed a planned Saturday rally in Portsmouth, N.H., citing a tropical storm expected to hit a swath of the Eastern United States.
“With Tropical Storm Fay heading towards the Great State of New Hampshire this weekend, we are forced to reschedule our Portsmouth, New Hampshire Rally at the Portsmouth International Airport at Pease,” Trump tweeted. “Stay safe, we will be there soon!”
The latest setback came as the Trump campaign casts about for ways to reverse its recent downward slide in the polls at a time when the president is facing widespread criticism over his handling of the pandemic and his harsh stance against those protesting racial injustice.
With growing whispers of a staff shakeup and behind-thescenes finger-pointing among White House, campaign and Republican Party officials, the campaign has been looking for something to reverse the negative momentum.
But attack lines against Democratic rival Joe Biden have failed to get traction and attempts to get Trump back on the road have faltered. His rally in Tulsa, Okla., three weeks ago was intended to mark his triumphal return to the trail, but it produced a surprisingly sparse crowd and campaign travel again was put on hold.
Trump’s visit to Florida was supposed to launch back-to-back days of high-profile campaigning but instead wound up being a one-off. He did fit in a campaign fundraiser in South Florida and events focused on government counternarcotics efforts and support for the Venezuelan people.
At his Doral event with Venezuelan expatriates, Trump courted a segment of Florida’s diverse Hispanic population by sharpening an emerging attack line: Biden might not be a socialist, but he is running past his expiration date and controlled by an ascendant liberal wing of the Democratic Party.
“Republicans are the party of freedom, and Democrats are the party of socialism and worse,” Trump said.