Trump, Biden go on offense
LAS VEGAS — President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden went on offense Sunday, with each campaigning in states they are trying to flip during the Nov. 3 election that is just over two weeks away.
Trump began his day in Nevada, making a rare visit to church before a fundraiser and an evening rally in Carson City. Once considered a battle ground, Nevada hasn't swung for a Republican presidential contender since 2004.
Bid en, a practicing Catholic, attended mass in Delaware before campaigning in North Carolina, where a Democrat hasn't won in the White House race since Barack Obama in 2008.
Both candidates are trying to make inroads in states that could help secure a path to victory, but the dynamics of the race are remarkably stable. Biden enjoys a significant advantage in national polls, while carrying a smaller edge in battleground surveys.
With Trump seated in the front row at the nondenominational International Church of Las Vegas, the senior associate pastor, Denise Goulet, said God told her the president is the apple of his eye and would secure a second term.
“At 4:30, the Lord said to me, `I am going to give your president a second win,'” she said, telling Trump, “you will be the president again.”
Trump offered brief remarks, saying “I love going to churches” and that it was “a great honor” to attend the service. The president also said that “we have a group on the other side that doesn't agree with us,” and he urged people to “get out there on Nov. 3 or sooner” to vote. He dropped a wad of $20 bills in the collection plate before leaving.
Despite t he pandemic, there were no efforts to social distance or limit singing, which health officials classify as a high-risk activity. Few
attendees wore masks inside the church.
Trump also planned to attend a fundraiser at the Newport Beach home of top
GOP donor and tech mogul Palmer Luckey, according to local news reports. The Los Angeles Times reported that the Beach Boys would perform.
The message was far different later in the day, when Biden attended a virtual discussion with African American faith l eaders from around the country.
Biden held up a rosary, which he said he carries in his pocket every day, and described it as “what the Irish call a prisoner's rosary” since i t was small enough to be smuggled into prisons.
“I happen to be a Roman Catholic,” Biden s ai d. “I don't pray for God to protect me. I pray to God to give me strength to see what other people are dealing with.”
Earlier, at a drive-in rally in Durham, North Carolina, Biden f ocused heavily on promoting criminal justice changes to combat institutional racism and promised to help build wealth in the Black community.