Election 2020 updates: Trump ends long day rushing through final rally in Minnesota
Trump and Biden both campaigned in three Midwestern states Friday.
With four days until Election Day, and President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden racing toward Nov. 3, more than 82 million Americans have already cast their ballots -- an early voting record.
Friday brings both Trump and Biden to Minnesota and Wisconsin, revealing how crucial the states are to both campaigns, with the contest overshadowed by coronavirus cases rising there and in nearly every battleground state.
The president's aggressive, defensive strategy -- visiting states he won in 2016 including a first stop in Michigan this afternoon -- comes as polls show him trailing nationally and in swing states key to his reelection hopes. Vice President Mike Pence returns to Arizona for a pair of rallies in Flagstaff and Tucson.
Biden will see his busiest travel day to date of the general election. With a stop in Iowa, too, it's the first time the former vice president has made plans to campaign in three states in one day for the 2020 cycle. Running mate California Sen. Kamala Harris is in Texas as Democrats play offense and sense an opportunity to snatch the GOP-stronghold for the first time in more than four decades.
Top headlines:
- Trump speaks for just 21 minutes at final rally of the night in Minnesota
- Biden battles noisy Trump supporters during Minnesota rally
- Trump mocks COVID-19 public health precautions at Minnesota rally
- Biden argues Trump’s presidency has hurt jobs in Iowa
- 5 coronavirus cases linked to Trump campaign events in Wisconsin, one case linked to Biden rally
Trump speaks for just 21 minutes at final rally of the night in Minnesota
Prone to speaking for over an hour at rallies, a clearly annoyed President Trump delivered a monotone speech for just 21 minutes to 250 supporters gathered outside in 40-degree weather at his final rally of the night in Minnesota.
Without the large, raucous crowd that the president typically feeds off of, Trump sped through his prepared remarks and stuck to the prompter as the sun set behind him.
Per state guidelines, the outdoor rally was limited to 250 people max, so long as social distancing could be maintained. As soon as he stepped on stage, Trump attacked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison for the limited crowd.
"As you know, there are at least 25,000 people who wanted to be here tonight," Trump said. "Your far-left Democrat Attorney General Keith Ellison and your Democrat governor tried to shut down our rally, silence the people of Minnesota and take away your freedom and your rights."
Trump, who spoke to an overflow crowd prior to the Minnesota rally, addressed those supporters. "I want to thank the thousands of people outside who were barred from entry by radical Democrats," he said.
The president then continued to attack Ellison, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden, claiming that "they want to imprison you in your homes while letting anarchists, agitators and vandals roam free as they destroy your cities and states."
But on Nov. 3, he continued, "The people of our nation are going to be heard like never before. It's already begun. People are already starting to find out what's happening. Because they're going to show up and vote in record numbers, and you have already started to see what's going on and they are getting very concerned."
Before unexpectedly ending, Trump, who lost Minnesota in the 2016 election, thought about what he could have done differently to win the state then.
"One more stop. I should have come one more time, just one more time," he said. "But you know what? It's not going to matter because we're going to have an even bigger victory on Nov. 3."
-ABC News' Terrence Smith and Will Steakin
Pence calls Biden 'Trojan horse' for progressive Democrats at last stop in Arizona
Vice President Mike Pence wrapped up his day in Arizona with a rally in Tucson, where he told a crowd of roughly 500 gathered on the tarmac of Tucson International Airport that in "four more days, it's going to be four more years" of a Trump presidency.
In addition to his standard stump speech, Pence mentioned recent reporting from Politico that Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are interested in joining Joe Biden's cabinet, using it to further his argument that Biden would only be a "Trojan horse" for progressive Democrats.
"Joe Biden would be nothing more than a Trojan horse for the radical left," he said. "I mean, they're already talking about cabinet appointments. Maybe you read about that. I'm hearing that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are looking to be on the cabinet, and drive America's policies to the left."
Pence also criticized Sen. Kamala Harris for her vote against President Donald Trump's USMCA trade deal, accusing his opponent of putting her "radical environmental agenda" first.
"Kamala Harris was one of only 10 members of the Senate to vote against the USMCA. She said it didn't go far enough on climate change. I mean, Arizona, you deserve to know Joe Biden's running mate put her radical environmental agenda ahead of Arizona jobs and ahead of American workers," he said.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Trump criticizes Minnesota governor for limiting crowd size
President Donald Trump visited the largely maskless overflow crowd, which may be larger than the crowd for the rally itself, before his last rally of the day in Rochester, Minnesota.
Speaking to reporters, he continued to blast Gov. Tim Walz, calling it a "disgrace" for him to limit the crowd size to 250 people and saying he's a "weak governor" who has done a "terrible job."
"You got thousands of people that are injured by this," he said. "They spent hours and hours, maybe even days -- a couple of days. You got 25,000 people. It’s a disgrace."
He added, "So we’re going to get back in and speak to 250 people."
-ABC News Elizabeth Thomas
Kamala Harris joined by Beto O'Rourke, Julian Castro at 2nd Texas stop
Sen. Kamala Harris made a second stop in Texas on Friday evening, where she was joined on stage by former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro at a drive-in rally in McAllen.
The Democratic vice presidential candidate gave her typical stump speech drawing contrast between Joe Biden and President Donald Trump on multiple fronts, with emphasis on what she described as Biden's ability to unify Americans.
"Joe Biden, in his heart, knows who we really are as America. Joe Biden, in his heart, knows that regardless of where you live, your race, your gender, your age, the language your grandmother speaks -- Joe Biden knows that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us. And it is time that we reject hate and division, and unify as a country. There are clear choices," she said.
-ABC News' Averi Harper
Trump touts potential crowd size ahead of first restricted rally in Minnesota
Departing the White House for a three-state tour of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the president aired his grievances with Minnesota's coronavirus measures imposed by the state's Democratic governor which will restrict his rally size -- for the first time -- to 250 people, while arguing he has "biggest crowds in the history of politics."
"We have 25,000 people in Minnesota, which is our last stop today. Twenty-five thousand people want to be there, and they say you can only have 250 people. So they thought I’d cancel, but I'm not canceling," Trump said, adding his supporters are still angry from civil unrest over the summer.
"And I think it's going to flip for the first time since 1972," Trump added.
After losing Minnesota to Hillary Clinton by just 44,000 votes in 2016, Trump has set his sights on flipping the historically blue state, which has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1972. His visit on Friday will be his fourth trip to the state this year and his eighth visit in the last four years.
But Trump is also facing a surging coronavirus pandemic in the Midwest, as Minnesota state health protocols currently mandate that all large gatherings be limited to 250 people, which the Trump campaign has deemed "free speech-stifling" ahead of the president touching down in Rochester.
Trump narrowly lost Olmsted County, which includes the city of Rochester, by 598 votes in 2016. Although once a fundamentally Republican area, Obama carried the county twice, and now the Trump campaign has devoted increased resources into flipping such districts and courting voters in surrounding rural communities.
The former vice president is set to appear at a drive-in campaign event in St. Paul -- where Democrats have historically performed well -- just one hour before the president is scheduled to appear to take the stage an hour south.
The candidates' visits come one day after the state's reported its single highest daily increase on record. They also come on the heels of the the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to require all absentee ballots in Minnesota to be received by local officials 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 in order to be counted -- a victory for Trump who has demanded all votes be tabulated on election night, though votes are always certified in the coming days and weeks.
FiveThirtyEight's polling average currently has Biden leading in Minnesota by 8 points.
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report.