‘A little bit concerned’: Trump looks to boost Iowa support
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to shore up support from constituencies that not so long ago he thought he had in the bag: big business and voters in the red state of Iowa.
In a
morning address to business leaders, he expressed puzzlement that they
would even consider supporting his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden,
arguing that his own leadership was a better bet for a strong economy.
Later, the president held his third campaign rally in three nights, this
time in Iowa, a state he won handily in 2016 but where Biden is making a
late push.
Trump claimed to be leading in the most recent poll he
saw. “For me to only be up six, I’m a little bit concerned,” he
asserted. Multiple polls have shown a much closer race.
Biden, for
his part, held a virtual fundraiser from Wilmington, Delaware, and
delivered pretaped remarks to American Muslims. He did not have any
public campaign events, unusual for just 20 days out from Election Day.
The
Democratic nominee used his appearance at the fundraiser to say that
Trump was trying to rush through Amy Coney Barrett, his nominee for the
Supreme Court, to help his efforts to repeal the Obama health care law,
calling that “an abuse of power.”
Biden was expected to spend much
of the day preparing for a town-hall-style TV appearance in
battleground Pennsylvania on Thursday, which was to have been the night
of the second presidential debate.
Instead, the candidates will
have dueling town halls on network television — Trump’s in Miami and
sponsored by NBC News, Biden’s in Philadelphia and on ABC. Trump backed
out of plans for the originally scheduled presidential faceoff after
debate organizers shifted the format to a virtual event following
Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.
Trump used his economic address
Wednesday to play up his administration’s commitment to lowering taxes
and deregulation of industry, and he didn’t hide his frustration with
signs that some in the business community are tilting to Biden.
“I
know I’m speaking to some Democrats, and some of you are friends of
mine,” Trump said in a virtual address to the Economic Clubs of New
York, Florida, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Pittsburgh and Sheboygan,
Wisconsin. Should Biden be elected, he continued, “You will see things
happen that will not make you happy. I don’t understand your thinking.”
The
former vice president has collected more than $50 million in campaign
contributions from donors in the securities and investment sectors,
according to the private nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
During his decades in the Senate representing Delaware, a center for the
credit card and banking industries, Biden built relationships and a
voting record in the business sector that has raised suspicion on the
left but provides Wall Street with a measure of ease at the prospect of a
Biden administration.
After being sidelined by the coronavirus,
Trump resumed a breakneck schedule this week, with aides saying he is
expected to travel and host campaign rallies every day through Nov. 3.
Trump has appeared hale in his public appearances since reemerging from
quarantine, though at moments during his economic address on Wednesday
his voice was raspy.
His trip to Iowa comes as the state this week
surpassed 100,000 coronavirus cases and has seen a recent surge in
hospitalizations. The number of people being treated in Iowa hospitals
for COVID-19 reached a new high Wednesday of 473 people.
Biden has
tried to make Trump’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed more
than 215,000 Americans, the central issue of the election.
“President
Trump isn’t coming to the Hawkeye State to offer words of comfort to
those suffering, or a helping hand to the Iowans who are out of a job,
or an actual plan to get the virus under control,” Biden said in a
statement. “Instead, he’s here to spread more lies about the pandemic
and distract from his record of failure.”
Officials at the Des
Moines airport were told to plan for up to 10,000 people, and such Trump
campaign events typically feature little to no social distancing and
only spot mask wearing.
A public health emergency declared by
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in March remains in place and requires that
organizers of mass gatherings “must ensure at least 6 feet (1.8 meters)
of physical distance between each group or individual attending alone.”
Trump acknowledged Reynolds’ presence at the rally. “Thank you, honey,” he said.
Trump
had an extra treat in mind for Iowa voters, drawing on one of the
perquisites of his office: Ahead of his visit, Trump said he would be
awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Iowa wrestling legend Dan
Gable. The former University of Iowa coach won 15 NCAA team
championships from 1976 to 1997.
Donning a red hat and tossing
away his tie to fight off the stiff breeze on the airport tarmac, Trump
made a direct appeal to the state’s farmers, saying that he was
responsible for $28 billion in aid designed to help offset damage
stemming from his trade war with China. “I hope you remember that on
Nov. 3,” Trump said.
But after years of farmers supporting him
despite the trade war, some Republicans say Trump’s renewable fuel
policy has sown some doubt.
Trump’s Environmental Protection
Agency granted dozens of waivers to petroleum companies seeking to
bypass congressional rules requiring the level of the corn-based fuel
additive ethanol that gasoline must contain. He has recently denied more
waiver requests, but the EPA’s previous action removed about 4 billion
gallons of ethanol demand, resulting in the closure — at least
temporarily — of more than a dozen ethanol plants in Iowa.
While
mostly laying low on Wednesday, Biden has stepped up campaign travel in
the past week, with visits to Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Pennsylvania.
The former vice president isn’t introducing new themes in his pitch
that he’s a steady alternative to Trump. Biden and his aides believe the
president’s scattershot campaign messaging since his COVID-19 diagnosis
proves the core of Biden’s case.
Trump’s return to Iowa comes as he has been forced into playing defense following a widely panned debate performance and his own coronavirus diagnosis. Republicans have raised alarm that enthusiasm among Trump’s base has waned slightly after the one-two punch of those events, casting his reelection into doubt.
Barrow reported from Wilmington, Del., and Madhani reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.