President banks on ‘silent majority’
Trump mounts new reelection strategy
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump mounted a strident defence on Sunday of his reelection bid with 100 days to go in a campaign that has seen him underwater in the polls — and banking on the “silent majority” he vowed will bring him victory.
The 74-year-old Republican has struggled on numerous fronts, facing mounting criticism over his handling of the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting economic pain, and failing to land punches on his opponent, Joe Biden.
“The Trump Campaign has more ENTHUSIASM, according to many, than any campaign in the history of our great Country — Even more than 2016,” Mr Trump thundered on Twitter.
“Biden has NONE! The Silent Majority will speak on NOVEMBER THIRD!!! Fake Suppression Polls & Fake News will not save the Radical Left.”
Mr Trump’s 77-year-old Democratic rival Mr Biden, who says he is fighting for “the soul of America”, implored voters to make Mr Trump a oneterm president.
“In 100 days, we have the chance to set our nation on a new path. One where we finally live up to our highest ideals and everyone has a fair shot at success,” he tweeted.
With the coronavirus killing more than 1,000 Americans a day, the president — who is at his best soaking up the adulation of supporters at live events — has been forced to cancel his rallies and ditch the Republican convention in Florida next month.
The pandemic, which has infected 4.2 million Americans and killed almost 150,000, is ravaging the US economy.
With overall approval ratings stuck in the low 40% range, Mr Trump is the first president to seek reelection after impeachment.
Mr Trump is offering a vision of chaos under his opponent, in which Mr Biden’s desire to “abolish the American Way of Life” would turn US cities into crime-infested wastelands.
His pitch boils down to claiming Mr Biden will have Americans “cowering to radical left-wing mobs”.
On Sunday, Mr Trump also tweeted his oft-repeated complaint that mailin voting will corrupt the election “& everyone knows it”.
New polling of registered voters from three swing states — Florida, Michigan and Arizona — released on Sunday showed Mr Trump trailing.
Meanwhile, Mr Biden is running an unprecedented campaign from his Delaware home, with no rallies and few news conferences.
The president is keen to remind those who discount him that, despite grim polling in 2016, that he comfortably beat all comers for the nomination before defeating Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Maryland’s Republican governor Larry Hogan, who didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 and is seen as a potential candidate in 2024, told CNN on Sunday he was unlikely to endorse the president this time around.
“The election is 100 days away. I think early voting starts in 60 days or less. We’re getting very close for the American people to make that decision,” he said.
“I think, quite frankly, a lot of people like me are frustrated with the divisiveness and dysfunction on both sides and don’t feel like we have two great choices.”