CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — Portraying himself as the non-politician in this race, President Donald Trump on Saturday described the upcoming Nov. 3 election as a choice between a rapid post-coronavirus economic recovery under him and a “depression” under Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
“We did more in 47 months than Sleepy Joe Biden did in 47 years,” Mr. Trump told several thousand gathered at the Pickaway County Fairgrounds south of Columbus. “A vote for Republicans is a vote for safe communities, good jobs, a limitless future for all Americans. Really, it’s a vote for the American dream. That’s what it really is.”
He called the election the most important the nation has perhaps ever seen.
“We’re coming back because we built a strong foundation,” Mr. Trump said. “ ... If we didn’t, this country would be some mess. And if a guy like Biden gets in, where he wants to raise your taxes? Quadrupled. ...
“He’s going to raise your taxes like crazy,” he said. “ ... This is the first politician that’s ever running saying he’s going to quadruple your taxes. What the hell? This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. ... Am I running against this man? I’m running against Sleepy Joe.”
Mr. Biden has pledged that he will not raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. Every substantive analysis of his plan shows that virtually all the revenue he seeks to raise would be gathered from the very wealthy or from corporations, with about half of the money coming from the top 0.1% and more than three-quarters from the top 1% of households.
Mr. Trump rallied in Republican-friendly territory in Circleville, home of the usually massive pumpkin festival that was dramatically scaled back to a drive-through event this year because of the pandemic. A local county commissioner and supporter dubbed the rally the “Trumpkin show.”
The outdoor rally took place as Ohio set yet another record Saturday for new coronavirus infections in a single day, 2,858.
The seats were just inches apart in rows spaced less than 3 feet apart. The many more standees were packed closely together. The use of face masks was sporadic at best, although the campaign officially urged their use and checked attendees’ temperatures upon entry.
Mr. Trump again said the country is “rounding the turn” on the coronavirus, despite the rising case numbers, and talked about his own hospitalization after he came down with it.
“I couldn’t stay in a basement,” he said. “I met a lot of people. I’m president. I’ve got to get out. I had it. It worked out well. Now I’m immune. I could run up and kiss this whole group, men and women.”
Despite Mr. Trump’s repeated claims, experts say many questions remain about immunity to the virus, including how long it may last after one is infected.
On Saturday, the president again took credit for the return of Big Ten football. The crowd watched as Ohio State trounced Nebraska on a giant screen while awaiting Mr. Trump’s late-afternoon arrival.
When the game wasn’t on, the screen read “Big Ten Football is Back ... President Donald J. Trump.”
“I know life in Ohio is not complete without Ohio State football,” he told the crowd to cheers.
The rally was one of three Mr. Trump held Saturday, with others in North Carolina and Wisconsin; all are states he won in 2016. On Sunday, he will rally in New Hampshire, hoping to flip a state carried by Democrat Hillary Clinton four years ago.
He won Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2016, but polls show it to be much tighter race this year. That was also reflected in the fact that Vice President Mike Pence visited Toledo on Friday and Mr. Biden’s running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, was in Cleveland on Saturday.
Mr. Trump praised his own performance during Thursday’s debate.
“The American people saw a contrast between a 47-year career politician who used his public office to enrich himself,” he said. “His son was like a human vacuum cleaner.”
Mr. Trump was referring to reporting on unsubstantiated emails reportedly obtained from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, Mr. Biden’s son. Mr. Biden dismissed the reports as part of a Russian disinformation campaign with Trump ally Rudy Giuliani at its center during Thursday’s final debate.
“Lock them up,” the crowd chanted Saturday.
Quipped the president: “It’s much better if I say, ‘No, no, no. Please.’ ”
“You elected an outsider as president who is finally putting America first,” Mr. Trump said. “You work hard. You raise your family. You follow our laws. You support your church that you’re not even allowed to go to. How about that? You can’t go to your church, but you can have a riot down Fifth Avenue. ...
“Now you finally have a president that is loyal to you, totally loyal to you,” he added. “Believe me, there are easier ways to spend my life. Nobody told me the swamp was going to be that deep and that vicious.”
In reaction to the president’s Ohio stop, Mr. Biden said, “Every single day, Ohioans are bearing the brunt of President Trump’s failures and broken promises. Ohio’s manufacturing sector has been hit hard, and working families have been uprooted from the communities they love.
“Since the onset of the pandemic, more than one in five Ohio small businesses have shuttered, more than 410,000 Ohioans remain out of work, and over 5,000 have lost their lives to COVID-19,” he continued. “President Trump’s lies and excuses can’t change these facts. But with their votes, Ohioans can turn the page on his failed presidency.”
Rochelle Castillo, a Black Columbus resident, was in the crowd. She voted for Mr. Trump four years ago and plans to do the same Nov. 3, dismissing suggestions that the Black vote belongs to Mr. Biden.
“I’m looking at politics and not character,” she said. “What has [Mr. Biden] done in 47 years, and what has he done to help Black African Americans? ... Not much at all.”
She remembers his vote as senator for the 1994 crime bill blamed for high incarceration rates of Black men.
“It seems like the Joe Biden that’s running now is trying to get away from that, but you are who you are,” Ms. Castillo said before praising Mr. Trump’s financial aid for historically Black colleges, his support for law enforcement, and his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The Block News Alliance consists of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, and television station WDRB in Louisville, Ky. Jim Provance is a reporter for The Blade.
First Published: October 25, 2020, 2:18 a.m.
