Joe Biden says he's planning Minnesota visit after Labor Day
As Election Day draws closer, Joe Biden says he's planning to make his first appearance in Minnesota as the Democratic presidential nominee.
Biden said Thursday that he plans to campaign in-person in potential swing states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin, after Labor Day.
Biden has done few in-person events since the COVID-19 pandemic began, conducting most of his campaign virtually as health official continue to call for limited gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But he told a virtual fundraiser on Thursday that he plans to start physical visits, though no exact dates has been announced for a Minnesota visit.
Biden, who won the Minnesota primary in March, also criticized Trump for holding large rallies and other campaign events that don’t fall in line with public health guidelines, coming on the day when 1,500 supporters – sat closely together and most not wearing face masks – watched Trump accept the Republican nomination outside the White House on the final day of the Republican National Convention.
Biden promised any in-person events would comply with state regulations on crowd size, which at the moment in Minnesota is 250 – a figure the president complied with when he visited Mankato earlier in August.
In the latest visit from the Trump campaign, Vice President Mike Pence is visiting Duluth on Friday for a “Workers for Trump” event at the Clure Public Marine Terminal.
It's not Pence’s first time in Minnesota during the pandemic. He visited the Mayo Clinic in Rochester in April, where he drew criticism for not wearing a mask during a tour of the facility. He later admitted he should have worn one.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka also visited Duluth and Bloomington last month, where she made stops at Duluth Pack and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Cold Case Office.
The President has repeatedly made appeals to voters in the Iron Range and Minnesota’s farmers. He’s touted tariffs on imported steel and recent corn and soybean orders from China.
Minnesota narrowly voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016, by only 1.5%. Trump has voiced plans to turn Minnesota red repeatedly, which would be the first time since 1972.
Clinton was criticized for failing to pay a visit to Wisconsin in 2016, which she lost by a margin of just 22,748 votes.
