Melania Trump launches attacks on Biden, Harris in Wisconsin

First lady Melania Trump on Saturday went on the attack against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), while defending her husband’s response to the coronavirus.

During a rally in West Bend, Wis., she accused the Democrats of working with the media to “attack the administration” rather than “unifying our country and coming together in this time of need.”

“It was Joe Biden who accused President Trump of xenophobic hysteria for putting the American people first and closing travel from China and parts of Europe,” she said. “Now, they are saying we didn’t do enough.

“Our actions say otherwise,” she added.

Since COVID-19 first hit the country earlier this year, the United States has recorded more than 9 million confirmed cases and more than 230,000 deaths a result of the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

The first lady in her remarks Saturday compared her husband to his Democratic rival, arguing, “President Trump isn’t a career politician like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” prompting boos and chants from the crowd of supporters.

“He’s a president with proven results, not empty words and broken promises,” she continued. “I watch Donald continue to work hard to keep people informed and calm, to protect our economy and make hard and unpopular decisions to do all he could to keep us all safe.”

“Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and the rest of the Democrats and the media have spent almost the same amount of time and energy attempting to impeach my husband as we have spent fighting COVID-19,” she claimed. “Yet Joe Biden says he could do a better job leading our great nation.”

The first lady then joked, “When you hide in a basement, you feel safe communicating your wishful thinking,” referring to the Biden team opting for a focus on social media campaigning earlier this year as the former vice president remained at his home in Delaware because of concerns about spreading the coronavirus.

Her appearance in Wisconsin follows her remarks alongside President Trump at his campaign rally in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday. 

“In a time when hate, negativity and fear are the messages the media streams into our homes and the large tech companies are protecting political censorship, we need to remember what is really important,” she said at Thursday’s rally. “My husband’s administration is focused on the future.”

The president at one point mocked Biden as “a touchy-feely guy,” and the crowd broke into a chant of “Creepy Joe.” President Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women.

“Our incredible first lady is sitting here right now, and she’s saying to herself, ‘I wonder if all rallies are like this,'” he joked.

The president narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, flipping a state that had not gone for a Republican presidential nominee since 1984. Biden currently holds a single-digit lead in the Badger State in recent polling.

The first lady’s appearances come after she remained largely absent from the campaign trail for months, even as the president has continued to trail Biden in national polls.