#Trump mocks ‘zero enthusiasm’ Joe Biden rally in Philadelphia

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Joe Biden speaks to a socially distanced crowd in Darby, Pennsylvania, last week.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

President Trump mocked Democratic rival Joe Biden for holding a sparsely attended rally in the Philadelphia suburbs earlier this week.

“Joe Biden’s rally. ZERO enthusiasm!” Trump tweeted along with a photo from the event where former vice president spoke to the about 20 supporters Wednesday.

To comply with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, attendees sat in folding chairs, each surrounded by a circle on the floor — to make sure everyone kept their distance. Many of the chairs were empty.

Trump has made clear that he is going to pack arenas nationwide with thousands of cheering fans after delaying rallies for months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The president is expecting a crowd of roughly 19,000 to show up for his first major rally Saturday at the Bank of Oklahoma Center arena in Tulsa. The show is expected to go on despite several members of Trump’s Tulsa advance team testing positive for COVID-19 on Saturday afternoon.

Not to be outdone, Biden struck back with a tweet of his own.

“Donald Trump’s failure to fight the coronavirus with the same energy and focus that he uses to troll his enemies on Twitter has cost us lives — and is putting hope for an economic recovery at risk.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks events according to risk: Virtual-only activities are the lowest risk; medium-sized gatherings that keep supporters at least 6 feet apart are higher risk; and large rallies that bring big numbers together present the highest risk.