President Trump told supporters Friday the 2020 race will be “over” if he wins Wisconsin again and that Election Day turnout could make it happen, even as many polls show him trailing Joseph R. Biden.
Mr. Trump won Wisconsin and its 10 electoral votes four years ago, shocking Hillary Clinton and Democrats. It will be a key prize again, along with neighboring states in the upper Midwest.
“We win this state, you know what? It’s over,” Mr. Trump said.
The RealClearPolitics polling average has Mr. Biden, the Democratic nominee, leading by 6 points, though the president sounded upbeat in Green Bay. He said the polls are way off, pointing to big crowds he draws in the state and that he’s second only to Jesus in popularity.
Mr. Trump also recounted how he pushed federal resources to Kenosha, Wisconsin, as violence erupted in the wake of a police shooting involving a Black man, Jacob Blake.
“Kenosha would not be there anymore, they were going to take it down,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Biden was scheduled to stop in Milwaukee later Friday as part of his own Midwest swing, though his events tend to be small, socially distanced affairs amid the pandemic.
Mr. Trump held a massive rally in Green Bay even as Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, begged people to stay home to thwart one of the biggest coronavirus surges in the country.
Wisconsin is recording an average of 4,000 cases per day compared to about 2,500 at the start of the month. During the same period, it’s gone from about a dozen deaths per day to an average of 40.
Worried about hospital capacity, Wisconsin opened a field hospital that can hold up to 500 patients at its state fairgrounds.
Mr. Trump repeated his belief the nation is “rounding the turn” on the pandemic and that economies should remain open with social distancing and other precautions.
“Hey governor, you got to open up your state here,” he said. “Open it up.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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