President Trump on Monday blasted his likely presidential challenger former Vice President Joe Biden during a speech in Manakato, Minnesota, saying he'd "abolish the American way of life" en route to turning the U.S. into a "very boring socialist country that will go to hell." He then had a go at Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), for co-sponsoring a "socialist takeover of health care."
The president also joked the coronavirus pandemic was "God testing me" to rebuild the U.S. economy a second time. He zeroed in on New Zealand, a country which, to Trump's apparent chagrin, has won praise for containing the virus. Recently, though, New Zealand has had a flare-up, and Trump made sure the crowd in Minnesota knew about it. While New Zealanders are certainly concerned about the virus resurfacing after several months, just nine new infections were reported Monday, far lower than the average daily number of cases in the United States, which Trump maintains has handled the pandemic with aplomb.
The speech also included a defense of the Minneapolis Police Department, which has come under fire in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, and criticism of the Minneapolis protests. "The city was ablaze," he lamented. Tim O'Donnell
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