Trump cites teenaged son's bout with coronavirus in calling for schools to reopen

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. October 13, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Under siege over his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump on Wednesday cited what he said was his son's mild bout of the virus as a reason why American schools should reopen as soon as possible.

Republican Trump made the comment about his son, Barron, while at a rally at the Des Moines, Iowa, airport on a mission to shore up support in battleground states that he won in 2016 but is in danger of losing to Democratic candidate Joe Biden barely three weeks before the election.