President Trump is back on the campaign trail in Florida Friday after the second and final debate against Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Mr. Trump is trying to win over seniors and women, two groups he’s struggling with as millions of Americans are already voting.
The president won Florida in 2016, propelling him to electoral victory, but polling shows he and Biden are neck-and-neck.
On Friday in The Villages, Mr. Trump repeated his pleas to women to “love” him, which he says he’s “kidding” about, but polls show him far behind Biden among women.
“Please please love me, suburban woman, I want you to love me,” the president told the crowd.
Moments later, he said the U.S. can never have a “socialist president,” but especially a “female socialist president,” in reference to vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“We’re not supposed to have a socialist — look we’re not going to be a socialist nation. We’re not going to have a socialist president, especially a female socialist president, we’re not gonna’ have it, we’re not gonna’ put up with it,” he said.
Mr. Trump, who is struggling in the polls with minorities, also criticized “Barack Hussein Obama,” emphasizing the “Hussein” part of the former president’s name.
How to watch Trump’s rallies in Florida
- What: President Trump holds Make America Great Again rallies
- Date: October 23, 2020
- Time: 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Location: The Villages, Florida, and Pensacola, Florida
- Online stream: Live on CBSN – in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
The president said he thought he was “treated very fairly” by the moderator, NBC News’ Kristen Welker, in Thursday night’s final debate.
Florida, which has a significant senior population, is a must-win for Mr. Trump. Recent polling shows the president is trailing Biden with seniors. Mr. Trump is keen on winning in The Villages, one of the country’s largest retirement communities.
In The Villages, the president said “American seniors must come first.”
The president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is believed to be a factor in his struggles with seniors, a group he easily won in 2016. Earlier this month, the president tweeted out a meme of Biden in a nursing home with other seniors with the title, “Biden for resident.” Both Biden and Mr. Trump are in their 70s.
On Friday, Mr. Trump claimed Biden said he would shut down the country over the pandemic, which is not what Biden said.
Trump: “Did you hear him last night? ‘Oh I’d lock down the country,'” the president said of his opponent.
But Biden actually said: “I’m going to shut down the virus, not the country.”
