Donald Trump unleashed months of pent-up grievances about the coronavirus, which he dubbed the “Kung flu”, a racist term for Covid-19, which originated in China.
He also tried to defend his handling of the pandemic, even as cases continue to surge in many states.
Mr Trump ignored health warnings to hold his first rally in 110 days, one of the largest indoor gatherings in the world during a coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 120,000 Americans.
At the rally, he also tried to defend his handling of the pandemic, even as cases continue to surge in many states.
He complained that robust coronavirus testing was making his record look bad – and suggested the testing effort should slow down.
READ MORE: Donald Trump - ‘If we stop testing, we’d have fewer cases’
“Here’s the bad part. When you do testing to that extent, you’re going to find more cases,” he said.
“So I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down.’ They test and they test.”
Mr Trump’s Democratic opponent Joe Biden tweeted later: “Speed up the testing.”
THE SILENT MAJORITY IS STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/AoIcroQUQd
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2020
In the hours before the rally, crowds were significantly lighter than expected, and campaign officials scrapped plans for Mr Trump to address an overflow space outdoors.
READ MORE: Donald Trump says he has 'tested positively toward negative' for coronavirus
When Mr Trump declared that “the silent majority is stronger than ever before,” about a third of the seats at his indoor rally were empty.
The president tried to explain away the crowd size by blaming the media for scaring people and by insisting there were protesters outside who were “doing bad things”.
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