US President Donald Trump has stepped out for a campaign rally in the state of Michigan on Thursday and proudly boasted about the huge crowd that had turned up to show their support for Trump in the upcoming US election.
Trump has been in the news for allegations of downplaying the dangers of the novel coronavirus, which he has denied.
On the rally, Trump again made a call for the return of Big Ten football and pushed for Michigan universities to reopen after making the same appeal earlier at a White House news conference.
“Let’s open it up, let’s play football,” Mr. Trump told the crowd gathered at an airport hangar in Freeland.
Mr. Trump said that universities should reopen because “it’s much safer for students to live on campus” than to have them at home “spreading the virus to high-risk Americans.”
Trump made wildly inaccurate claims at a rally, suggesting he has revitalized auto manufacturing in the state when it actually lost jobs even before coronavirus hit in March.
"We brought you a lot of car plants, we brought you a lot ... and we’re going to bring you a lot more," Trump said.
Trump has also apparently made similarly exaggerated claims in other campaign stops, with the Washington Post saying he has been "bragging about imaginary auto plants."
Trump defended himself by comparing his performance in explaining the coronavirus threat to the public to that of Winston Churchill during the bombing of London in World War II.
“As the British government advised the British people in the face of World War II, ‘keep calm and carry on,’ that’s what I did,” Trump said.
Trump also slammed on Joe Biden saying that the First Lady Melania Trump thought Joe Biden looked 'sad' when she watched him during a Democratic debate before claiming that 'far-left lunatics' will run the government if the former vice president wins the November election and that the murder rate in Chicago and Baltimore is 'higher than in Afghanistan'.
'The first lady actually came in... and she watched the debate and she watched Joe and she said, "Darling, it's so sad,"' Trump claimed, before taking aim at Biden's running mate, Kamala Harris, who he called the 'most liberal person in the USA'. The mention of Harris brought on boos and jeers from the crowd.
Trump then claimed that Biden is trying to 'eliminate new jobs and open your borders'.
Trump's arrival in Michigan comes as he grapples with the fallout from the new book 'Rage' by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward.
Source: Agencies
