by: Kellie Meyer
Posted:
/ Updated:
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden held dueling rallies on Thursday in Florida – a state that’s key to each campaign’s success on Election Day.
“In my – our – home state of Florida,” President Trump said to a crowd at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Meanwhile, Biden held a campaign event in Broward County.
“If Florida goes blue, it’s over,” he told his supporters.
The Sunshine State is up for grabs on Tuesday with each campaign working to seal the deal.
“I love this state and I love the people of this state,” President Trump said during his rally.
The president is banking on his home state advantage next week and surprised supporters with a speech from his wife, First Lady Melania Trump.
“Under my husband’s leadership, our nation is respected again,” the first lady told the Tampa crowd.
Both candidates brought up the coronavirus crisis facing the country but shared different approaches to defeat the pandemic.
“I’m not gonna shut down the economy, I’m not gonna shut down the country, but I’m gonna shut down the virus,” Biden said.
“We’re never gonna lockdown again. We locked down, we understood the disease and now we’re open for business,” Trump said.
Supporters crowded together during President Trump’s Tampa rally, even though two people at his rally in North Carolina last week tested positive for the coronavirus.
“President Trump’s super-spreader events and he’s spreading more virus around the country,” Biden said. “And here in Florida today, he’s spreading division in addition.”
Biden stayed in Florida to hold a drive-in rally in Tampa while the president returned to North Carolina.
