WILMINGTON, N.C. — Donald Trump is spending Saturday hopscotching the country, attempting to capitalize on a tightening race against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
The Republican presidential nominee is campaigning here in the battleground state of North Carolina[1], as well as Florida[2], Colorado [3]and Nevada [4]— and said his campaign plans to travel to Minnesota, a traditionally Democratic state where polls showing him trailing by about five points.
"We're going to Minnesota[5]. We're going up to Minnesota, which traditionally has not been Republican at all, and we're doing phenomenally, we just saw a poll," Trump said. The Republican Party of Minnesota said he will rally in the state Sunday afternoon.
Trump added: "We're going to Colorado where we're doing phenomenally well. We're doing well everywhere. We're doing well in places that they don't believe. They're saying, 'What's going on?' "
But Trump's campaign announced that it was canceling a Sunday rally in Wisconsin, a state where Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, stumped with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) on Saturday but where polls show Clinton with a sizable advantage.
And Trump will be greeted by some unwelcome news when he arrives Saturday afternoon in Nevada, where polls show he holds a slight edge over Clinton. Early voting totals in Clark County[6], which includes Las Vegas, show that 52,000 more people voted early this year than in 2012, ballots cast by an electorate that likely favors Clinton.
[Clinton maintains narrow four-point edge, pushing past concerns about honesty[7]]
Clinton's team has spent months mobilizing in Las Vegas, helped by the powerful Culinary Workers Union. Friday night, local media reported that voters at one Las Vegas polling place waited in line for two hours to cast ballots.
Clinton's campaign did receive a setback Saturday as the Supreme Court overruled an action by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that kept Arizona from implementing a ban on third-party collection ballots. Democrats wanted to strike the new provision, arguing it hurt minority voters who most often had their ballots collected by others and turned in. The high court gave no explanation for its ruling and there were no dissents, but in the past it has been reluctant to change the rules close to an election.
On Friday, a federal judge in North Carolina ordered three counties there to restore voter registrations that were canceled[8], agreeing with an NAACP lawsuit that it was too close to Election Day to do so.
[Military families could tip North Carolina to Clinton[9]]
A downpour Saturday forced Hillary Clinton to cut short what may be her last campaign speech in Florida, where polls indicated she holds a slim lead. Clinton can win without the state's 29 electoral college votes, but a victory in Florida is her safest and fastest way to the 270 needed to win.
"You're a hardy bunch, standing out in the rain!" a hoarse Clinton shouted, as she tried to be heard above the drumming rain at an outdoor rally.
Rally-goers huddled under umbrellas and plastic tarps, or stood dripping as Clinton spoke.
"You must get out! Let's vote for the future. Let's vote for what we want for our country!" she said to close a boiled-down, seven-minute version of her usual stump speech.
Clinton was introduced by Sybrina Fulton, whose son Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by a neighbor in 2012 in a racially charged case that helped propel a movement for criminal justice reform.
Before Saturday morning's rally, Clinton shook hands and snapped selfies with activists, volunteers and people who were voting early at a West Miami community center, where women danced and men played the drums.
"We're going to do this," Clinton said.
She also visited Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, where Trump has tried to make inroads by tapping into Haitian anger about the Haiti policy of Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton.
Clinton's running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, and Bill Clinton will also appear in Florida, where the campaign is banking on a large turnout among Latino voters.
The former secretary of state will also campaign in Pennsylvania [10]Saturday.
Her campaign announced plans to air a special two-minute national television ad during the shows with the largest audiences available on Monday night, the eve of the election.
The unusually long ad will air during "The Voice" on NBC, with an estimated weekly viewership of at least 11 million and "Kevin Can Wait" on CBS with an estimated viewership of at least 8 million.
The campaign did not release an advance version Saturday.
"Clinton will share a positive and unifying message with the entire country – those supporting her and those who aren't, those in battlegrounds and those who aren't," a campaign aide said.
Pence spent the morning in Michigan[11], where he made an appeal to voters as a fellow Midwesterner who has seen the region hemorrhage jobs. He then traveled to Wisconsin to appear with Ryan, who supports Trump but has tangled with him. Pence and Ryan showed nothing but affection for each other onstage. Ryan called Pence the "heart o f the conservative movement."
Trump was joined in North Carolina by his wife, Melania. Although she has rarely campaigned alongside her husband, this was her second appearance on the trail this week.
"We need a president who will deliver the change you all have been waiting for. This is your last chance, your last chance to make a real difference," Melania said, introducing the GOP nominee in Wilmington.
[Report: Melania Trump worked in U.S. without proper permit[12]]
Her appearance came a day after the Associated Press reported that she was paid for 10 modeling jobs in 1996 before she received legal authorization to work in the United States. The Trump campaign did not respond on Saturday to requests for comment on the report.
In North Carolina, Trump, as he had in the previous few days, remained disciplined and kept close to his scripted stump speech. But earlier in the day at a rally in Tampa, he returned to his freewheeling ways, referring to himself as "Mr. President" when talking about things he believes could happen if he wins on Tuesday and casting off talk of one of his favorite targets, Obamacare, because it was "boring" and he would repeal it anyway.
"We don't need Jay Z to fill up arenas. We do it the old-fashioned way, folks," Trump said, poking at Clinton for hosting a rally with the rapper and Beyoncé, his wife, in Cleveland on Friday night.
Trump, who has shown a p enchant for profanity during the election cycle and said on a 2005 tape that he could grab women "by the p---y" because he was "a star," chastised Jay Z for using curse words [13]during the performance.
"Can you imagine if I said that? So he used every word in the book," Trump said. "I won't even use the initials because I'll get in trouble."
The nominee implored black and Hispanic voters, who polls show heavily favor Clinton, to cast ballots for him, citing signs in the crowd that read: "Blacks for Trump" and "Cuban women for Trump."
"Blacks for Trump, you voted, right?" Trump asked.
At one point T rump waded into the crowd and returned to the stage with a baby wearing a shirt and hat printed with the American flag.
"Future construction worker," Trump said.
The Republican nominee also falsely said President Obama "screamed" at a protester in North Carolina on Friday. The president defended the right of the man[14], who was a Trump supporter, to protest.
Trump returned to an old theme: That people would get tired of winning if he were to be elected.
"We will win at trade, we will win at the borders," Trump said. "We're going to win so much you 're going to get sick and tired of winning. You'll say, 'Please, Mr. President, take it easy we're sick and tired of winning.' "
Robert Barnes and Sarah Parnass in Washington contributed to this report. Gearan reported from Florida and Zezima from Washington.
References
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ Clinton maintains narrow four-point edge, pushing past concerns about honesty (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ Military families could tip North Carolina to Clinton (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ Report: Melania Trump worked in U.S. without proper permit (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
- ^ www.washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com)
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