Trump campaigns in Mich. amid book fallout
FREELAND, Mich. — Reeling from another crisis of his own making, President Donald Trump tried to refocus attention on his Democratic rival at a rally in battleground Michigan on Thursday as he pushed to move past revelations that he purposefully played down the danger of COVID- 19 last winter.
But the virus controversy followed him as he faced new pushback from local officials worried about the growing size of his rallies and his campaign’s repeated flouting of public health guidelines intended to halt the COVID- 19 spread. That includes Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who raised alarms about Thursday’s event, warning it would make recovery harder.
Mr. Trump, however, reveled in the crowd of several thousand, packed shoulder- to- shoulder in a cavernous airport hangar, mostly without masks.
“This is not the crowd of a person who comes in second place,” Mr. Trump declared to cheers as he railed against Ms. Whitmer for current state restrictions.
“Tell your governor to open up your state!” he demanded, saying the state would be better if it “had a governor who knew what the hell she was doing.”
Before departing the White House, Mr. Trump denied he had lied to the nation as he continued to grapple with fallout from a new book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward. In a series of interviews with Mr. Woodward, the president spoke frankly about the dangers posed by the virus — even as he downplayed them publicly — and admitted he had tried to mislead the public.
“Donald Trump knew all along just how deadly this virus is,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said in a virtual fundraiser. “He knew and purposefully played it down because all he was concerned about was his re- election, didn’t want to affect economic growth.”
But Mr. Trump, answering questions at the White House, insisted “there was no lie” in his often- dismissive public comments and said he was only trying to project calm. He pointed to steps he had taken, including implementing travel restrictions, but said, “That doesn’t mean I’m going to jump up and down in the air and start saying, ‘ People are going to die, people are going to die.’”
But Mr. Trump seemed to have no issue leaning into fear at his evening rally, as he lobbed unsubstantiated accusations at Mr. Biden and Democrats, including charging that they want to shut down auto plants — despite the Obama administration’s work to save the industry — and “delay” the production of a COVID- 19 vaccine. Mr. Biden, he claimed, would terminate travel bans Mr. Trump has implemented, overwhelming the state “with poorly vetted migrants from jihadist regions” and refugees “from terrorist hot spots around the world.”
And he continued his racially charged appeal to suburban voters who turned to Democrats during the 2018 midterms, warning that under a Biden administration, “far left lunatics” would be placed in charge of the federal government and courts and American suburbs would be destroyed.
“Does anyone want to have a member of antifa as a resident of your suburb? I don’t think so,” Mr. Trump declared, telling his supporters, “Your vote will save America.”
Mr. Trump has resumed an aggressive campaign schedule, despite the ongoing pandemic.
While the rallies so far have been held in open- air airport hangars, they have been drawing thousands of supporters despite local restrictions. And the majority of attendees, including in Michigan, have refused to wear masks, even when mandates are in place.