Biden aims to expand map as Trump recovers from coronavirus

MIAMI — As President Donald Trump recovers from the coronavirus, Joe Biden is capitalizing on having the campaign trail largely to himself by hitting critical swing states and investing in longtime Republican bastions that he hopes might expand his path to victory. The progressive Vermont senator held socially distanced rallies in the battlegrounds of New Hampshire and Michigan, proclaiming, “We need Joe Biden as our president.” Sitting on a massive pile of campaign cash less than a month before Election Day, Biden is trying to put Trump on defense across the country and build an advantage in the Electoral College so large that the president might struggle to contest it. “Now that’s he’s busy tweeting campaign messages, I’d encourage him to do this: Listen to the scientists.” Biden also diverted from his usual campaign speech about rebuilding the economy after the pandemic to add, “The richness and beauty of Miami is built with the connections of family, culture, values that we share with our friends throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.” Trump left the hospital Monday night. “The Trump campaign continues to run their presidential campaign, and we are going to continue to run our presidential campaign,” said Biden campaign senior strategist Anita Dunn. During an MSNBC town hall later Monday evening, Biden said presidents should be transparent about their health, though he also “can understand that, in certain circumstances related to national security, where every detail would not be made available in the middle of a particular crisis.” But Biden said withholding such information was only appropriately rarely and for short periods of time, saying it should be done “only on the margins and only for the moment.” Since the president tested positive for the virus, Biden’s campaign has been even more disciplined about minimizing its candidate’s risk.