Trump met with Christian voters on Saturday before the debate, soliciting the support of Pennsylvanians.

CNN
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Former President Donald Trump, in keeping with his preference of avoiding traditional debate preparation, spent the final Saturday campaigning before his first one-on-one showdown with President Joe Biden.

Trump spoke to a gathering of Christian conservatives in Washington, D.C., on Saturday afternoon, touching on his familiar campaign message while highlighting his efforts to roll back federal abortion rights by nominating judges who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Later Saturday, he traveled to a more traditional campaign rally in the key battleground state of Philadelphia.

The back-to-back public appearances stand in stark contrast to how Biden is approaching the first of two presidential debates, hosted by CNN on Thursday, with the president and his team spending the weekend at Camp David poring over briefing binders and holding mock debates to prepare for his pivotal meeting with Trump.

While Trump has been holding private briefings with advisers and allies, he has also been actively campaigning, holding a rally in Racine, Wisconsin, on Tuesday and attending a fundraiser in Ohio on Thursday night.

The Trump campaign is having fun contrasting the two candidates’ preparation styles.

“While Joe Biden’s advisers are forcing him to get some much-needed rest at Camp David, President Trump is maintaining a busy campaign schedule,” Trump spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said.

“I’m looking forward to Thursday. I know he’s holed up in a log cabin somewhere. You can imagine what he’s doing,” Trump told reporters at a Philadelphia sandwich shop on Saturday about Biden.

Earlier Saturday, former President Trump appeared at the annual “Path to the Majority” conference hosted by the Faith & Freedom Coalition, a group founded by evangelical leader Ralph Reed. Trump has spoken at the conference nine times, but his appearance on Saturday came as he has sought to distance himself from the hardline anti-abortion stance of Christian groups like Faith & Freedom.

Trump, who advocated for a federal abortion ban and led the campaign to overturn Roe v. Wade, now says future battles over abortion access should be left to states. Trump’s abortion policy shift came after he blamed the issue for Republicans’ disappointing results in the 2022 midterm elections, and ahead of next month’s party convention, where they will vote on their first party platform since Roe was overturned.

Reid told CNN that she doesn’t think Trump’s positions are at odds with voters of faith.

“The president’s position simply reflects short-term political realities on both sides,” he said. “Neither side has the votes to pass federal legislation that reflects their values ​​and aspirations.”

Reid added: “The long-term political reality is that whoever wins this fight at the state level will gain momentum and the votes to get what they want at the federal level.”

Democrats have campaigned aggressively, spending millions of dollars reminding voters of Trump’s role in eliminating constitutional abortion rights, and the Biden campaign has blasted Trump’s attendance at the Washington event as evidence of his position on the issue.

“You’re only as good as the people you hang out with,” said Biden campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitica. “Donald Trump’s position is clear: He ‘proudly’ works with extremists to overturn Roe, he has pledged to work ‘side by side’ with groups committed to ‘eliminating’ abortion, and this Saturday he will be delivering a keynote address to fellow extremists committed to banning abortion across the country.”

As the election heats up in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, Trump held a rally in Philadelphia on Saturday night, his fourth rally in the state this year.

The Trump campaign has sought to drive a rift between Biden and his home state by harshly criticizing the president on inflation and crime.

Trump focused on crime in his speech Saturday, saying Philadelphia was “bloodied and devastated” and highlighting the presence of the family of slain Maryland mother Rachel Maurin, whose suspected killer, authorities say, illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border last year.

Southeastern Pennsylvania has been a campaign hub for both presidents: Trump held a rally in the Lehigh Valley in April and launched a line of sneakers at SneakerCon in Philadelphia in February as part of his outreach to minority communities.

Four years ago, Biden won Pennsylvania with 92% of its black voters, a key factor in his victory, but a recent poll by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College found that Biden’s support among black voters in the state has fallen to 50%.

Ahead of Trump’s Saturday rally, the Democratic National Committee released a new ad that it said aims to highlight “Trump’s history of failing Black Americans and leaving Black communities behind.” The counter-messaging comes as polls show Black men are more inclined than ever to support Republican candidates in this year’s election.

In addition to the signs in Philadelphia, the DNC planned to set up mobile billboards at former President Trump’s rallies to highlight higher black unemployment rates under Trump compared to Biden’s administration. The committee planned to set up “Support Biden Kiosks” around Temple University, where Trump’s rallies were held, to highlight student loan debt relief and increased funding for public education implemented under the Biden administration.

“Donald Trump has been a disaster for minority communities, especially Black Americans. He says he’s not a racist, but his record shows otherwise. He repeatedly disrespected large Black cities, jobs disappeared during his time in office, the unemployment rate for Black Americans more than doubled during the pandemic, and his tax evasion widened the racial wealth gap,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Abhi Rahman said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Trump vowed at the rally to “work to help black, Hispanic and other communities in Philadelphia and across this country.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.