Trump to hold in-person event Saturday and hit campaign trail Monday; Biden calls it 'reckless'

US President Donald Trump will hold an in-person event on the White House lawns for the first time since contracting the viral disease on Saturday, and hit the election campaign trail from Florida on Monday.

The president took to Twitter to announce his decision to return to campaigning. "Will be in Sanford, Florida, on Monday for a very BIG RALLY!" he wrote on the microblogging site.

"Will be in Sanford, Florida on Monday for a very BIG RALLY!" hetweeted.

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The events come despite continued questions over how sick Trump was and how complete his recovery is now, with White House officials refusing to answer basic queries including when the president first contracted the virus and whether he has tested negative since.

Saturday's speech, which a senior administration official said would be on Trump's favoured theme of "law and order," will give him a chance to dispel lingering doubts about his health.

The crowd will be on the South Lawn of the White House, while the president will speak from the balcony. All attendees will be required to wear masks and have their temperature checked.

This also comes in the backdrop of the Commission on Presidential Debates saying the next Thursday's debate was scrapped, leaving an October 22 event the final Trump-Biden showdown before election day on November 3.

Seeking to project strength and improved health, Trump had refused to participate in next week's scheduled debate after organizers shifted it to an online format out of coronavirus concerns.

That prompted accusations of bias from Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh, who said "there is no medical reason to stop" the October 15 debate from proceeding.

Biden, however, does not concur with the idea of a public appearance so soon after contracting the deadly virus and has called the president's behaviour "reckless."

At a drive-in style event in Las Vegas, Biden slammed the president.

"His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis, the destabilizing effect it's having on our government, is unconscionable," Biden said.

"He didn't take the necessary precautions to protect himself or others... How can we trust him to protect this country?"

As he boarded his campaign plane he offered a message for those attending Trump's public events: "Good luck. I wouldn't show up unless you had a mask and were distanced."

After Trump spent months mocking Biden for staying at home during the pandemic, ironically it is Biden who has barnstormed swing states this week.

He visited Arizona Thursday and campaigned Friday in Nevada. Trump won both states in 2016 but they are now narrowly tilting Democratic in polls.

On Friday, Trump also gave a marathon interview to right-wing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh in which he said the experimental Regeneron antibody cocktail that he took as part of therapeutic treatment was "a cure."

In fact, there is no cure and still no approved vaccine for the coronavirus.

Trump repeatedly asserted that he feels fine and he has been backed up bystatements from presidential physician Sean Conley.

But in his Limbaugh interview, Trump suggested for the first time that he had been close to death, had it not been for his therapeutic drug regimen.

"I'm talking to you today because of it. I could have been a bad victim," he said.

According to Conley, Trump is now fit for a "safe return to public engagement" from Saturday.

Polls show Biden leads heavily in key demographics including women and the elderly, prompting analysts to talk increasingly of a possible landslide victory. Trump's biggest liability -- overwhelming public dissatisfaction over his handling of the pandemic -- has returned as the headline issue of the campaign thanks to his own infection.

Adding to the pressure, Democrats who control the House of Representatives unveiled plans for a commission to investigate a president's fitness for the job -- a move clearly meant to jab at Trump.

(with inputs)