The Latest: Pre-debate, Biden studying Trump's past comments
Joe Biden says he’s begun preparing for presidential debates that begin later this month by studying President Donald Trump’s past comments
WASHINGTON -- The Latest on the 2020 presidential campaign (all times local):
10:30 p.m.
Joe Biden says he’s begun preparing for presidential debates that begin later this month by studying President Donald Trump’s past comments.
“I haven’t been doing mock debates very much but I’ve been just making sure that I understand all that he has said and hasn’t said,” the Democratic presidential candidate told reporters as he prepared to fly back to his home state of Delaware on Tuesday night, after an event marking the start of Hispanic Heritage Month in Orlando, Florida.
Biden said he didn’t know who might play Trump when he does begin staging mock debates.
The former vice president said before his Florida visit that he wants to improve his standing with Hispanic voters ahead of November’s election. But he said Tuesday night, “We’re doing just fine.”
“Here in Florida there’s not a whole of Puerto Ricans that are going to vote for Donald Trump after what he’s done for Puerto Rico,” Biden said, referring to the slow federal response after Hurricane Maria’s 2017 devastation of the island. “So they know him but they’ve got to know more about me.”
He also said Hispanics in Florida and elsewhere wouldn’t be deceived by Trump’s attempts to portray him as soft on socialism and communism.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:
President Donald Trump was in Washington on Tuesday for a White House ceremony celebrating Israel signing pacts with two Gulf Arab states. He is also scheduled to participate in an ABC town hall event in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, meanwhile, was in the battleground state of Florida on Tuesday for a roundtable with veterans in Tampa and a Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff event in Kissimmee.
Read more:
— Trump: Israeli pacts with 2 Arab states signal ‘new’ Mideast
— Biden seeks to woo Latinos in 1st trip to Florida as nominee
— Trump takes questions in TV town hall as debate warm-up
— Trump highlights foreign policy wins as he courts voters
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
9:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he didn’t downplay the coronavirus pandemic, even though he told journalist Bob Woodward that he did so intentionally.
Trump said during an ABC News town hall in Philadelphia on Tuesday: “I actually, in many ways, I up-played it in terms of action. My action was very strong.” The answer came in response to a question from an undecided voter about why Trump would purposely downplay a pandemic that is known to disproportionately harm low-income families in minority communities.
Trump told the legendary Washington Post reporter that he always wanted to “play it down” because he didn’t want people to panic. He also called the virus “deadly stuff.” Trump’s comments were captured on a recording Wood
WASHINGTON -- The Latest on the 2020 presidential campaign (all times local):
10:30 p.m.
Joe Biden says he’s begun preparing for presidential debates that begin later this month by studying President Donald Trump’s past comments.
“I haven’t been doing mock debates very much but I’ve been just making sure that I understand all that he has said and hasn’t said,” the Democratic presidential candidate told reporters as he prepared to fly back to his home state of Delaware on Tuesday night, after an event marking the start of Hispanic Heritage Month in Orlando, Florida.
Biden said he didn’t know who might play Trump when he does begin staging mock debates.
The former vice president said before his Florida visit that he wants to improve his standing with Hispanic voters ahead of November’s election. But he said Tuesday night, “We’re doing just fine.”
“Here in Florida there’s not a whole of Puerto Ricans that are going to vote for Donald Trump after what he’s done for Puerto Rico,” Biden said, referring to the slow federal response after Hurricane Maria’s 2017 devastation of the island. “So they know him but they’ve got to know more about me.”
He also said Hispanics in Florida and elsewhere wouldn’t be deceived by Trump’s attempts to portray him as soft on socialism and communism.
——
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:
President Donald Trump was in Washington on Tuesday for a White House ceremony celebrating Israel signing pacts with two Gulf Arab states. He is also scheduled to participate in an ABC town hall event in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, meanwhile, was in the battleground state of Florida on Tuesday for a roundtable with veterans in Tampa and a Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff event in Kissimmee.
Read more:
— Trump: Israeli pacts with 2 Arab states signal ‘new’ Mideast
— Biden seeks to woo Latinos in 1st trip to Florida as nominee
— Trump takes questions in TV town hall as debate warm-up
— Trump highlights foreign policy wins as he courts voters
———
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
9:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he didn’t downplay the coronavirus pandemic, even though he told journalist Bob Woodward that he did so intentionally.
Trump said during an ABC News town hall in Philadelphia on Tuesday: “I actually, in many ways, I up-played it in terms of action. My action was very strong.” The answer came in response to a question from an undecided voter about why Trump would purposely downplay a pandemic that is known to disproportionately harm low-income families in minority communities.
Trump told the legendary Washington Post reporter that he always wanted to “play it down” because he didn’t want people to panic. He also called the virus “deadly stuff.” Trump’s comments were captured on a recording Wood