Trump, Biden schedule town hall meetings

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday sought to shore up support from constituencies that not so long ago he thought he had in the bag: big business and voters in the red state of Iowa.

In a morning address to business leaders, he expressed puzzlement that they would even consider supporting his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, arguing that his own leadership was a better bet for a strong economy. The president was set to campaign later in the day in Iowa, a state he won handily in 2016 but where Biden is making a late push.

Biden, for his part, held a virtual fundraiser from Wilmington, Delaware, and was delivering pretaped remarks to American Muslims in the evening. He did not have any public campaign events scheduled, unusual for just 20 days out from Election Day.

The Democratic nominee used his appearance at the fundraiser to say that Trump was trying to rush through Amy Coney Barrett, his nominee for the Supreme Court, to help his efforts to repeal the Obama health care law, calling that "an abuse of power."

Biden was expected to spend much of the day preparing for a town-hall-style TV appearance in battleground Pennsylvania on Thursday, which was to have been the night of the second presidential debate.

Instead, the candidates will have dueling town halls on network television.

Both town halls will begin at 7 p.m., but Biden will have the last word. The ABC event, moderated by George Stephanopoulos, will last 90 minutes with an additional half hour of analysis. Trump's town hall on NBC is scheduled for an hour.

"I know I'm speaking to some Democrats, and some of you are friends of mine," Trump said in a virtual address to the Economic Clubs of New York, Florida, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Pittsburgh and Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Should Biden be elected, he continued, "You will see things happen that will not make you happy. I don't understand your thinking."

The former vice president has collected more than $50 million in campaign contributions from donors in the securities and investment sectors, according to the private nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. During his decades in the Senate representing Delaware, a center for the credit card and banking industries, Biden built relationships and a voting record in the business sector that has raised suspicion on the left but provides Wall Street with a measure of ease at the prospect of a Biden administration.

After being sidelined by the coronavirus, Trump has resumed a breakneck schedule this week, with travel and campaign rallies every day.

Trump has appeared hale in his public appearances since reemerging from quarantine, though at moments during his economic address on Wednesday his voice was raspy.

His trip to Iowa comes as the state this week surpassed 100,000 coronavirus cases and has seen a recent surge in hospitalizations. The number of people being treated in Iowa hospitals for COVID-19 reached a new high Wednesday of 473 people, and there's no sign of slowing as the number of people admitted in the past 24 hours was third highest.

Biden has tried to make Trump's handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 215,000 Americans, the central issue of the election.

"President Trump isn't coming to the Hawkeye State to offer words of comfort to those suffering, or a helping hand to the Iowans who are out of a job, or an actual plan to get the virus under control," Biden said in a statement. "Instead, he's here to spread more lies about the pandemic and distract from his record of failure."

Officials at the Des Moines airport, where the rally was to be held in a cargo hangar, were told to plan for up to 10,000 people, and such Trump campaign events typically feature little to no social distancing and only spot mask wearing.

A public health emergency declared by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds in March remains in place and requires that organizers of mass gatherings "must ensure at least 6 feet of physical distance between each group or individual attending alone."

Reynolds, a Trump ally, was expected to appear at the event.

Trump had an extra treat in mind for Iowa voters, drawing on one of the perquisites of his office: Ahead of his visit, Trump said he would be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable. The former University of Iowa coach won 15 NCAA team championships from 1976 to 1997.

While mostly laying low on Wednesday, Biden has stepped up campaign travel in the past week, with visits to Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Pennsylvania. The former vice president isn't introducing new themes in his pitch that he's a steady alternative to Trump. Biden and his aides believe the president's scattershot campaign messaging since his COVID-19 diagnosis proves the core of Biden's case.

The Trump campaign has grown increasingly worried about states he won handily four years ago, including Ohio, Iowa and, to a lesser extent, Texas.