WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th October, 2020) US President Donald Trump previewed the final three weeks of his push for a second term during his first public appearance since testing positive for COVID-19, with dual themed message backing police and an outreach to a key bloc that typically votes Democratic - Black and Latino.
Trump removed his face mask as he stepped onto the White House balcony overlooking the South Lawn with a boisterous crowd of about 500 supporters with identical red MAGA hats and blue T-shirts. Face masks were required.
"We're here today to deliver a united message ... we love you," Trump said in addressing police, Black and Latino voters in a single breath.
The speech lasted less than 20 minutes, in which Trump offered a preview of daily campaign rallies he plans to headline between now and the November 3 election, beginning with an appearance Monday in the state of Florida.
Trump's appearance followed a week in which polls showed former Vice President Joe Biden with a double digit lead nationally and smaller, albeit significant leads in many of the six or seven battleground states that analysts say will determine the winner.
Polls in five key states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, and North Carolina by Redfield &Wilton cited by the New York Times showed Biden with leads ranging from 5 to 10 points.
But as if to illustrate the sketchy history of polls, the same report had Biden winning Arizona by six points next to another poll showing Trump with a 4 point margin.
Polls at the same point in 2016 showed Hillary Clinton with leads that pointed to a landslide victory, only to have margins disappear in the final weeks.
Cindy McCain Backs Biden in New Ad
Hours before Biden took his campaign to the city of Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania, his campaign unveiled a television ad featuring Cindy McCain, the widow of Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona.
The minute-long ad targeting voters in Arizona features McCain describing Biden's friendship with her late husband to make a case that the former vice president can cross party lines and unite the country.
Pelosi Rejects Trump's COVID-19 Plan
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump's proposal for a $1.8 billion COVID-19 relief plan insufficient in a letter to House Democrats on Saturday.
"At this point, we still have disagreement on many priorities, and Democrats are awaiting language from the Administration on several provisions as the negotiations on the overall funding amount continue," Pelosi said.
Pelosi's rejection, along with skepticism among several Republicans in the Senate, makes it unlikely Congress and the president can agree on a second major package prior to the election, analysts say.
The United States reported 57,420 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, the highest daily total in nearly two months, according to Johns Hopkins University.
New cases are rising in 33 states across the US, especially in rural states - Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, where infections reached record highs.
White House physician Sean Conley said in a statement on Saturday that Trump himself was no longer a transmission risk to others and that the president had met CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation.
