ALLENTOWN, Pa. — President Donald Trump, speaking to the Washington Examiner ahead of an event at a medical supply facility in the key swing state, criticized Joe Biden’s mental abilities, at one point claiming that his Democratic rival “has no idea what’s going on.”
Trump was reacting to the news that Biden had joined forces with former rival Sen. Bernie Sanders to name Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as co-chair of a climate change panel, a move Trump said would cost Biden the state of Pennsylvania.
“If you asked him who he named, he wouldn’t even know,” Trump said. “Joe has no idea what’s going on. AOC is a disaster. She wants to get rid of all fossil fuels. She wants to get rid of everything. She wants wind, which is expensive — it kills all the birds. You know, I’m an environmentalist, too. But wind is a disaster.”
Trump said Biden, by allying with Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders on energy policy, “lost Texas. Lost Pennsylvania. Lost North Dakota. Lost Oklahoma. And lost every other state where fuel is important — most of them.”
The line was one of several Trump used to criticize Biden’s mental fitness.
Asked about the possibility of Democrats not holding a live convention, Trump said: “I think it’s a good move when you have Biden as your nominee.”
Trump also said he was looking forward to debating Biden in the fall, suggesting, “I know they want to try to get out of the debate by saying they won’t be able to debate because of COVID-19.”
Speaking about the prospects of leading an economic recovery, Trump said: “Biden can’t do it. He doesn’t know he’s alive.”
Trump was here to tour the Upper Macungie Township distribution center of medical equipment maker Owens & Minor, one of five companies nationwide selected by the Department of Health and Human Services to supply 600 million N95 respirator masks to hospitals and surgical centers.
The Virginia-based company has shipped gloves, surgical gowns and masks to health care facilities across the country. In March, CEO Ed Pesicka was in the Rose Garden with the president and several other business leaders for a coronavirus task force briefing.
Trump’s visit to Pennsylvania comes on the heels of Gov. Tom Wolf imposing a plan that would selectively reopen the state — a move that has rankled many rural counties that have been ordered to remain closed despite moderately low case and death numbers. The governor has threatened severe economic consequences for counties that defy his order, including withholding federal stimulus funds, revoking liquor licenses and barring them from business liability insurance.
In the interview, Trump expressed support for counties challenging the orders.
Pennsylvania is a key part of a region that includes Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin that ended their Democratic presidential runoffs in 2016 to support Trump over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. A victory in Pennsylvania is considered critical but not mathematically necessary for a Republican president.
A fresh poll by SSRS on behalf of CNN finds that Trump is trailing Biden nationally, but in key battleground states including Pennsylvania, 52% of respondents support Trump and 45% support Biden.
Ahead of Trump’s event, his supporters lined up more than a mile long, waiting for hours to greet him, waving American flags and Trump signs.
Trump boasted about the crowds during the interview. “This is your poll,” he said.
He also touted the prospects of Sean Parnell, who is running against Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb for the 17th Congressional District in western Pennsylvania — the exact race that will be key to Republican hopes of retaking the House.
In the extensive interview, Trump spoke about the upcoming election, the fight against coronavirus, economic recovery, energy and China, among other things.
Salena Zito is a CNN political analyst and a reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. She reaches Everyman and Everywoman through leather journalism, traveling from Main Street to the Beltway and everywhere in between.
