Trump Defends Virus Response, Attacks Biden During Waukesha Stop

Reporting by The Associated Press:

WAUKESHA, WI— President Donald Trump assured supporters packed shoulder to shoulder at a trio of rallies Saturday, including one in Waukesha, that “we’re rounding the turn” on the coronavirus — despite spiking cases — and mocked challenger Joe Biden for raising alarms about the pandemic.

During a Saturday night rally at the Waukesha County Airport, Trump dug in on defending his administration's coronavirus response and quickly launched into attacks on Biden as the crowd chanted, “Lock him up.”

He also criticized Biden for saying at last week's presidential debate that the country was headed for a “dark winter” because of the pandemic.

“I thought Sleepy Joe was very dark," he told his biggest crowd of the day at a night-time rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin. “How dark was that? How horrible was that?” he asked.

The president's comments come a day after the United States recorded a staggering 85,000 new coronavirus cases, a new single-day record surpassing the previous record of 75,687 cases set on July 16.

Trump's visit to Wisconsin on Saturday concluded a busy day on the campaign trail.

The president, who spent Friday night at his Mar-a-Lago resort after campaigning in Florida, started Saturday by stopping at an early voting polling site set up at a public library to cast his own ballot.

Greeted at the polling site by a crowd of cheering supporters, Trump wore a mask inside, according to The Associated Press, and followed local rules in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

After casting his ballot, he told reporters that he voted for “a guy named Trump," AP reported.

Later in the day, Trump held rallies in Lumberton, North Carolina, and Circleville, Ohio.

During his Waukesha rally, Trump told supporters the election is " a choice between a Trump super recovery and a Biden depression," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Trump reminded the crowd of Biden’s comments from Thursday's debate on his hope to transition the country away from the oil industry.

“He's against oil,” Trump said. “He’s against oil, guns and God.”

Watch a recap of the Waukesha rally on the Trump campaign's YouTube channel.