Joe Biden returns to South Florida for campaign stop
MIRAMAR, Fla. - One day after President Donald Trump stopped in Florida after returning to the campaign trail, the Democratic nominee Joe Biden will also be visiting the battleground state by heading back to South Florida.
Tuesday, Biden will head to Broward County for back-to-back events in Miramar and Pembroke Pines to focus on his outreach to older Americans and mobilizing voters.
On Monday night, Biden campaigned over in Ohio. He made two campaign stops Monday in Ohio, attempting to expand the battleground map and keep President Donald Trump on the defensive in a state long thought to be out of reach for Democrats after Trump’s wide margin of victory there four years ago.
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The Democratic presidential nominee stressed an economic message and touted his own record while casting Trump as having abandoned working-class voters who helped him win Rust Belt states that put him in the White House in 2016. The president’s reelection campaign countered that few expected Trump to win Ohio so comfortably four years ago and that he would repeat a similar upset on Election Day.
In Toledo, Biden addressed United Auto Workers who represent a local General Motors’ powertrain plant. The former vice president spoke in a parking lot with about 30 American-made cars and trucks arrayed nearby, and he struck a decidedly populist note, praising unions and arguing that he represented working-class values while the Republican Trump cared only about impressing the Ivy League and country club set.
“I don’t measure people by the size of their bank account,” Biden said. “You and I measure people by the strength of their character, their honesty, their courage.”
Biden highlighted his role as vice president as the Obama administration rescued the U.S. auto industry after the 2008 financial collapse. President George W. Bush signed the aid package after the 2008 election, but the Obama administration managed most of the rescue program.
In Trump's first rally since recovering from COVID-19, he thanked the audience in Sanford for their well-wishes and declared he was no longer contagious as he embarked on a frenetic final stretch of the campaign.
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Trump insisted that, after being given experimental medication and other VIP treatment, he felt great and was glad he no longer needs to be concerned about infection because he’s now “immune.”
“I feel so powerful,” said Trump, displaying no obvious signs of lingering infection. “I’ll walk into that audience. I’ll walk in there, I’ll kiss everyone in that audience. I’ll kiss the guys and the beautiful women ... everybody. I’ll just give ya a big fat kiss.”
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He promised the third-quarter economy would be “record-setting” and claimed that, if he wins in November, “normal life” will resume, while Biden would delay the vaccine and destroy the economy with a “draconian” lockdown.
Later this week, Trump's campaign says he plans to return to central Florida, this time, in Ocala.
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In 2016, Trump narrowly beat his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, in the state by just over 112,000 votes. Some recent polls have suggested a close race in the state, while others have put Democrat Joe Biden ahead.
The latest poll from Real Clear Politics shows Biden is leading the President by nearly four points among Florida voters -- Biden with 48% support and Trump with 44.3%.
Tuesday's visit to South Florida will be Biden's second stop the in a little over one week. In his prior visit, Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, made stops in Little Haiti and Little Havana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.