Trump derides doctors as COVID surges, Biden says Trump ‘giving up’ on virus
MILWAUKEE/ ROCHESTER, Minn., (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden yesterday sought support in Midwestern states where the coronavirus has roared back, with Trump falsely accusing doctors of profiting from COVID-19 deaths while Biden said Trump had surrendered to the pandemic.
Trump criticized Democratic governors who have imposed restrictions that aim to slow the virus’s spread, and said Biden would prohibit Americans from gathering for holidays or other special occasions if elected. Many of those who came to see him did not wear masks.
“You’ve got to open up your state and you’ve got to do it fast!” Trump said at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with just four days to go before the election.
At a later event in Rochester, Minnesota, he greeted hundreds of supporters who were locked out of a rally that was limited to 250 participants by state authorities.
Trump also trained his ire on the U.S. medical system, falsely saying that doctors are somehow incentivized to drive up the death count.
“Our doctors get more money if someone dies from COVID,” he said in Waterford Township, Michigan.
Biden accused Trump of “giving up” in the fight against the virus and said he should not attack medical personnel who are treating its victims.
“Unlike Donald Trump, we will not surrender to this virus,” he said at a rally in St. Paul, Minnesota. Supporters, socially distanced in their cars at the state fairground, and honked their horns in agreement. The coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 230,000 people in the United States and cost millions more their jobs, has dominated the final days of the campaign.
A record surge of cases is pushing hospitals to the brink of capacity. The news pushed Wall Street to its worst week since March, undercutting one of Trump’s main arguments for reelection.
Trump, who recovered from COVID-19 weeks ago, has played down the health crisis for months, telling supporters in recent weeks that the country is “turning the corner” even as cases surge. Biden has warned of a “dark winter” ahead and promised a renewed effort to contain the virus.
Biden leads Trump 52% to 42% in Reuters/ IPSOS national opinion polling, partly because of widespread disapproval of his handling of the pandemic. Opinion polls show a closer contest in the most competitive states that will decide the election.
The focus on the upper Midwest underlined the region’s importance in the race. Michigan and Wisconsin were two of the three historically Democratic industrial states, along with Pennsylvania, that narrowly voted for the Republican Trump in 2016, delivering him an upset victory.
Biden leads Trump by 9 percentage points in Michigan and Wisconsin and 5 points in Pennsylvania, according to Reu te rs / IPSOS polling.(https://polling.reuters.com/)