The latest on the 2020 election

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 8:00 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020
32 Posts
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7:11 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

9 people who attended Trump's Minnesota rally have tested positive for Covid-19

From CNN’s Raja Razek and Chuck Johnston

Nine people who attended President Trump's rally in Bemidji, Minnesota, have tested positive for Covid-19, said Kris Ehresmann, the state's infectious disease director. 

"Nine cases reported attending the rally. One case was known to be infectious. There was two hospitalizations that were associated with that. One who is in intensive care and no deaths at this point," Ehresmann said.

At least 2,000 people attended the Sept. 18 rally in an airplane hangar, according to a CNN producer who was at the event.

6:50 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Biden calls Trump's conduct following his Covid-19 diagnosis "reckless"

From CNN's Sarah Mucha

Joe Biden rebuked President Trump following the President’s Covid-19 diagnosis, arguing that Trump's “reckless personal conduct” and inability to protect himself is why he should not be trusted to protect the country.  

“You deserve a president who understands what you’re going through. The last thing you need is a president who ignores you, who looks down upon you,” Biden said, speaking at drive-in event in Las Vegas. “That’s President Trump.” 

Biden said Trump's "reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis, the destabilizing effect it's having on our government is unconscionable."

“He didn’t take the necessary precautions to protect himself or others and the longer Donald Trump is president, the more reckless he gets. How can we trust him to protect this country?" the former vice president said.

6:50 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Biden campaign says it's "shameful" that Trump has backed out of the Miami debate

From CNN's Dan Merica

Joe Biden's campaign called the decision by President Trump to forgo the second presidential debate in Miami "shameful." 

“Vice President Biden looks forward to making his case to the American people about how to overcome this pandemic, restore American leadership and our alliances in the world, and bring the American people together. It's shameful that Donald Trump ducked the only debate in which the voters get to ask the questions — but it's no surprise. Everyone knows that Donald Trump likes to bully reporters, but obviously he doesn't have the guts to answer for his record to voters at the same time as Vice President Biden," Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates said.

Some context: The Commission on Presidential Debates has canceled the second debate between Trump and Biden after the President declined to do a virtual debate despite concerns over his Covid-19 diagnosis, a source familiar with the plans tells CNN.

Trump is in talks to do a town hall with NBC on Thursday in lieu of the scheduled presidential debate with Biden, according to a person familiar with the plans.  

Joe Biden’s campaign has already announced he'll do a town hall with ABC that night. 

6:50 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Presidential debate in Miami has been canceled

From CNN's Dan Merica

Donald Trump and Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29. Getty Images

The Commission on Presidential Debates has canceled the second debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the President declined to do a virtual debate despite concerns over his Covid-19 diagnosis, a source familiar with the plans tells CNN.

The cancelation is the culmination of a furious 48-hour back-and-forth between the commission and both campaigns and means what would have been the third debate in Nashville on Oct. 22 will likely be the final meeting between the two candidates.

CNN previously reported that Joe Biden had committed to an ABC town hall on Thursday and earlier today, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins reported that Trump is in talks to do a town hall with NBC Thursday, cautioning that plans have not been finalized yet. 

5:17 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Trump in talks to do town hall with NBC on Thursday night  

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins

President Trump is in talks to do a town hall with NBC on Thursday in lieu of the scheduled presidential debate with Joe Biden, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Trump rejected a move by organizers to make the debate virtual so his team is arranging for him to do a town hall instead. 

The same source cautioned things have not been finalized yet. 

Joe Biden’s campaign has already announced he'll do a town hall with ABC that night. 

That means both candidates will likely appear at town halls the night they were supposed to appear at a town hall in person together until Trump tested positive for Covid-19. 

5:57 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Infectious disease expert says Saturday's White House event is not a good idea

From CNN’s Shelby Lin Erdman

President Trump is holding an outdoor event at the White House Saturday, but leading infectious disease investigator Michael Osterholm said he wouldn’t go. 

“I wouldn't go right now because I think the White House itself has a fair number of infections,” Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN’s Jake Tapper Friday.

Trump is expected to address the gathering from the balcony and Osterholm says as long as he’s not near any people, he won’t pose any risk.

“But I think the issue is, again, the White House has not really gotten its act together in terms of the prevention program that they need to have,” he said.

“I said three months ago that what they had done to use these rapid tests to protect the President was akin to giving squirt guns to the Secret Service and telling them to protect the President against an assassin,” Osterholm added.

“The program was absolutely illogical and terribly inadequate,” he said. “So, unless they've changed that, I don't see any reason why one can assume that there's going be less transmission at the White House now than there was several weeks ago.”

Trump is also planning to attend a campaign rally in Florida on Monday. 

He was diagnosed with Covid-19 last week and hospitalized. He was released Monday after a treatment program that included a monoclonal antibody cocktail, the antiviral remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone.

5:44 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

The President will hold a rally in Florida next week, his campaign says

From CNN's Matthew Hoye, Jim Acosta and Kaitlan Collins

President Donald Trump stands on the Truman Balcony after returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 5 in Washington, DC.
President Donald Trump stands on the Truman Balcony after returning to the White House from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on October 5 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Trump plans to return to the campaign trail Monday, with an evening rally in Florida, according to a news release from his campaign. 

The event is set to take place in an airport hangar in Sanford, Florida. 

Trump also plans to hold a gathering at the White House Saturday afternoon, a White House official confirms to CNN — signaling the President is following through on comments that he is ready to head back to the campaign trail. 

Saturday's event is planned for the South Lawn. And Trump is expected to address the attendees from the balcony, the official said.

Hundreds of guests were invited to the event — which will be the first in-person event since Trump tested positive for coronavirus, an official tells CNN. 

5:17 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Trump is expected to host an event at the White House tomorrow

From CNN's Jim Acosta and Kaitlan Collins

US President Donald Trump as he walked out of Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on October 5, 2020, to return to the White House after being discharged.
US President Donald Trump as he walked out of Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on October 5, 2020, to return to the White House after being discharged. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump is expected to hold an event at the White House tomorrow, a White House official confirmed to CNN.

The event is planned for the South Lawn. And Trump is expected to address the attendees from the balcony, the official said.

Hundreds of guests were invited to the event — which will be the first in-person event since Trump tested positive for coronavirus, an official tells CNN.

A source with knowledge of the group’s planning says, “All attendees must bring a mask with them and will be instructed to wear it on the White House Complex. All attendees must submit to a Covid-19 screening tomorrow morning. This will consist of a temperature check and a brief questionnaire. The health and safety of all attendees is our priority and following CDC guidelines is strongly encouraged." 

And while Trump won't be close to the attendees, the choice by the White House is striking given the last large event they hosted in the Rose Garden to announce the selection of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be his nominee for the Supreme Court has been linked to multiple Covid 19 infections. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday called the Barrett event a superspreader in an interview with CBS, saying "We had a superspreader event in the White House and it was in a situation where people were crowded together and went without wearing masks. So the data speak for themselves."

3:51 p.m. ET, October 9, 2020

Biden makes appeal for Latino vote: "We have to win overwhelmingly" so Trump can't dispute the election

From CNN's Sarah Mucha 

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as he visits East Las Vegas Community Center, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks as he visits East Las Vegas Community Center, Friday, Oct. 9, 2020, in Las Vegas. Carolyn Kaster/AP

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden delivered a call to action for Latinos in East Las Vegas to get out and vote, telling those in attendance that it’s important to not just win, but “win overwhelmingly” so President Trump can’t dispute the election. 

"He's trying to scare us,” Biden said of Trump. “He tries to continue to convince everybody there's ways they can play with the vote and, and undermine the vote. They can’t. If we show up, we win. And look what's happened in early voting all across America. Long line, long lines. We can't just win, we have to win overwhelmingly, so he can't be in a position where he can put the phony challenges he's talking about."

The candidate laid out the importance of voting, telling the Hispanic audience that they can “determine the outcome of the election.” 

Biden joked with a young boy wielding a lasso that he’d like to bring him back to Washington, DC. “I got a couple people I’d like you to lasso. Are you ready to move? I need to take you to Washington with me. You ready to do that?,” he said.

After he concluded his remarks, Biden told the boy, Max, “If I win, you’re getting an invitation to Washington. Not a joke.” 

Biden is expected to participate in a drive-in event in Las Vegas and deliver remarks to supporters in their cars.