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Trump Spends Final Few Campaign Days In Democratic Strongholds

SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: And I'm Sarah McCammon traveling with the Trump campaign. He's headed back to Michigan today. Trump is arguing that he can pick up electoral votes in unlikely places.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DONALD TRUMP: We're going into what they used to call Democrat strongholds where we're now either tied or leading. We're going to Minnesota.

MCCAMMON: That was Trump in Tampa, Fla. yesterday. Minnesota is an unexpected choice because the state hasn't voted for a Republican since Richard Nixon in 1972 and most polls show Clinton with a lead. Trump is spending time in places where the polls are tighter, like North Carolina. His wife Melania joined him in Wilmington just two days after campaigning solo in the crucial Philadelphia suburbs.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MELANIA TRUMP: I enjoy speaking to all of you in Pennsylvania so much I decided to do it again.

(CHEERING)

M TRUMP: And the media was so nice to me after. I just had to come back.

MCCAMMON: In another battleground area last night, Reno, Nev., there was a bit of drama as Trump barreled through his stump speech.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: By the way, folks, while we're at it, great...

MCCAMMON: Suddenly, Secret Service agents rushed him off the stage.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: All right, go.

MCCAMMON: That sent the audience into chaos as someone in the crowd shouted that they'd seen a gun. A man was taken into custody and Trump returned to the stage several minutes later.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: Nobody said it was going to be easy for us.

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: But we will never be stopped, never ever be stopped.

MCCAMMON: The Secret Service later said there was no gun. And the man taken into custody was questioned and released, but not before Trump's social media director retweeted the false claim that there'd been an assassination attempt. Sarah McCammon, NPR News, traveling with the Trump campaign. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Sarah McCammon worked for Iowa Public Radio as Morning Edition Host from January 2010 until December 2013.
Sarah McCammon
Sarah McCammon is a National Correspondent covering the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast for NPR. Her work focuses on political, social and cultural divides in America, including abortion and reproductive rights, and the intersections of politics and religion. She's also a frequent guest host for NPR news magazines, podcasts and special coverage.