Trump attacks Biden in battleground Michigan

Amid a political crisis of his own making, President Donald Trump tried to refocus attention on ecomy at a rally in battleground Michigan Thursday as he pushed to move past revelations that he had been determined to play down danger of coronavirus last winter.

But virus controversy followed him. Trump faced renewed push back from officials worried that his rallies are growing in size and flouting public health guidelines intended to halt COVID-19 spread. This week, state of Nevada became first to scuttle his plans for rallies initially set for Las Vegas and Re. Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also raised alarms about Thursday's event.

After stepping down from Air Force One, Trump reveled in crowd of several thousand, packed shoulder-to-shoulder in an airport hangar, mostly without masks.

"We've brought you a lot of car plants. You kw that, right?," Trump declared to a cheering crown in Freeland.

Both candidates have been paying Michigan frequent visits, with Biden traveling to suburban Detroit on Wednesday to make a direct appeal to blue-collar workers who might have voted Republican four years ago but w regret it.

Trump has also tried to keep those voters' support, and at his rally Thursday he pushed back, accusing Biden of supporting trade deals and policies that moved jobs to or countries, including China.

"t only does Joe Biden want to eliminate jobs, he wants to eliminate your borders," Trump said. "He's promised to flood your state with refugees."

Michigan's unemployment rate spiked at 24% in April, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. It has since recovered to 8.7%, but Michigan has nearly 414,500 fewer jobs than it did when Trump was inaugurated.