When it comes to the pandemic, Obama says Trump “isn’t going to suddenly protect all of us”
Former President Barack Obama took aim at President Trump and his response to the coronavirus pandemic during a campaign event this afternoon for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Miami, Florida.
“Eight months into this pandemic, eight months into this pandemic, new cases are breaking records,” Obama said. “Donald Trump isn’t going to suddenly protect all of us. He can’t even take the basic steps to protect himself. There’s no sense that he’s coming up with a new approach, with a new plan. He doesn’t even acknowledge that there’s a problem. Just this week, he complained that the pandemic was making him go back to work. If he had been working in the first place, we never would have seen the situation get this bad.”
Obama: “What we do in the next 10 days will matter for decades to come”
From CNN’s Arlette Saenz
Former President Barack Obama campaigned on behalf of his former Vice President Joe Biden today in Miami, Florida, and called on Americans to vote.
“What we do in the next 10 days will matter for decades to come,” Obama said to the sounds of car horns and cheering.
More from Florida: Obama made an unannounced stop in Miami Springs, Florida, this afternoon to thank volunteers and supporters, telling them their work can help deliver Florida and the White House for Biden in November.
“If you bring Florida home, this thing’s over,” Obama said as he visited a 2020 Coordinated Campaign Victory Center in Miami Springs, according to a print pool report of the stop. “And that way I don’t have to stay up too late. I don’t have to wait for the results through the next day. I want to go to sleep knowing that we’re going to have a president fighting on our behalf.”
Obama referred to volunteers as “the lifeblood of any campaign” and urged them to keep up their work, including for Democrats in down ballot races.
“That’s what’s going to make a difference in this election,” he said, later adding, “Keep your masks on, stay safe, be socially distanced — and then go out there and kick some ass.”
More than 5 million people have voted in Florida
From CNN’s Melissa Alonso
More than 5 million Floridians have cast their ballots in the state with 10 days remaining until election day, according to Florida’s Division of Elections statistics.
A total of 5,288,965 ballots have been cast by mail or in person, state election statistics show.
This is an increase of nearly 3 million ballots cast since last Saturday when 2.4 million ballots had been cast, CNN reported.
Vote-by-mail ballots total 3,554,082 as of Saturday morning, the state’s election division statistics show. For comparison, 2,732,075 residents voted by mail for the 2016 election, Florida voting data shows.
There have also been 1,734,883 ballots cast at voting sites since early voting began on Monday, data shows.
Impromptu Trump rally seen outside Biden event in Pennsylvania
From CNN’s MJ Lee
As Joe Biden spoke at his drive-in rally in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, dozens of cars and trucks full of what appeared to be Trump supporters were seen waving signs and American flags set up in the parking lot at the local community college where the event was happening.
Throughout the former vice president’s event, the group honked and made a ton of noise — shouting things like “four more years” while playing music and honking.
The noise could be heard by Biden, who noted at one point that he would be president for all Americans – “even those chumps out there with the microphones.”
Congressman calls Trump’s comments on mail-in voting a “dangerous game”
From CNN’s Adrienne Vogt
Democratic Rep. John Garamendi called President Trump’s comments on mail-in voting “a horribly dangerous game.”
Earlier today, Trump voted in person in Florida, saying that his chosen method was “much more secure.” Experts says cases of mail-in voting fraud are very rare in the US. In March, Trump voted by mail in Florida’s primary election.
“He’s playing a horribly dangerous game, bringing into doubt the sanctity of the American election,” Garamendi told CNN. “Putin could not be happier … And now Iran is also piling on. And the President is simply there helping them along the way.”
“Mail-in ballots are a secure, safe and appropriate way to vote,” he added.
Garamendi also said that Biden has laid out a plan on tackling the coronavirus pandemic. The US recorded a record number of new Covid-19 cases on Friday.
“Unfortunately, the President is going exactly the opposite direction, bouncing around the country, spreading the virus. It’s unconscionable, but it is his reality, and his reality, unfortunately, is that we’re going to live with the virus and all of the deaths,” he said.
Watch:
“It may come down to Pennsylvania,” Biden says at campaign event
From CNN’s Sarah Mucha
With ten days until the election, Joe Biden criticized the president for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and lack of a healthcare plan in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Biden also urged voters to get out and vote, underscoring the importance of winning Pennsylvania and noting that around the state, he’s known as Jill Biden’s husband.
“She and I are here today because it’s go-time, folks. As my coach in Delaware’d say, it’s go time. It’s gameday! We have ten days left. It may come down to Pennsylvania,” the former vice president said.
Biden says to supporters: “I’m not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else.”
From CNN’s Sarah Mucha with Lauren Koenig
Joe Biden is continuing to clarify his position on fracking, telling supporters at an event in Bucks County on Saturday.
“I’m not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else. I’m going to protect Pennsylvanian jobs, period,” the former vice president said.
Some context: Fracking is an important industry in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
The remarks come as Biden has had to clarify his position on getting rid of the oil industry after Thursday night’s debate, and as President Trump continues to use this as a line of attack against his opponent.
Biden claimed that he “never said I oppose fracking” when pressed by President Donald Trump on the issue during Thursday night’s presidential debate.
“You said it on tape,” Trump replied.
In 2019, Biden said “we would make sure it’s eliminated” when asked about the future of coal and fracking; in 2020 he said he opposed “new fracking.”
Biden’s written plan, conversely, never included a full ban on fracking or even on new fracking. Rather, it proposes “banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters” — not ending all new fracking anywhere or ending all existing fracking on public lands and waters.
More than 6.8 million votes have been cast in Texas
From CNN’s Ashley Killough
More than 6.8 million people have cast their vote in Texas, including the first 11 days of early voting, according to data posted on the Texas Secretary of State website Saturday morning.
On Friday, 450,533 people voted in person, bringing the total in-person votes to 6,040,431. Cumulative ballots-by-mail so far this cycle were 816,828.
Some context: Comparing early voting data from 2016 can be complicated for multiple reasons, in addition to the pandemic.
Texas has three weeks of in-person early voting this cycle compared to two weeks in 2016. The state is also tracking early voting data from all 254 counties this cycle, but it only collected data from the top 15 most populous counties in 2016.
Still, when looking at the data from the first 11 days of early voting in the top five most populous counties in both cycles, turnout has increased by 360,989, an increase of about 14%. It’s worth noting that those counties represent 42% of all registered voters.
The last day of early voting in Texas is Oct. 30.
Joe Biden tests negative for Covid-19 ahead of Pennsylvania trip
From CNN’s Sarah Mucha
Joe Biden tested negative today for Covid-19 ahead of his trip through Pennsylvania on Saturday, according to his campaign. This is the first test result the campaign has disclosed following Thursday night’s debate.
“Vice President Biden underwent PCR testing for Covid-19 today and Covid-19 was not detected,” the campaign said.
