Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both held campaign rallies in the US state of Georgia, as their general election showdown comes into greater focus.
The former president, 77, slammed Thursday’s State of the Union speech as an “angry, dark and hate-filled rant”.
An hour later, President Biden, 81, unveiled new endorsements as he went on the offence against his rival.
Both men are now within striking distance of clinching their respective party nominations for president.
Mr Trump has so far amassed 1,076 delegates and is 139 away from the number needed to lock in the Republican nod. Mr Biden has collected 1,859 delegates, 109 short of what he needs to secure the Democratic ticket.
Each man has the chance to complete the task in primary contests on Tuesday, including in Georgia.
Their shadow-boxing duel on Saturday also comes two days after Mr Biden rebuked his predecessor’s rhetoric and record in harsh terms during his State of the Union address to Congress.
Speaking in the north-western city of Rome, Mr Trump hammered his “grossly incompetent” opponent for “the most divisive, partisan and radical speech ever delivered by a president in that chamber”.
“Joe Biden should not be shouting angrily at America,” he argued.
“America should be shouting angrily at Joe Biden.”
Speaking about an hour’s drive away in the capital city of Atlanta, Mr Biden told supporters: “It can tell you a lot about a person, who he keeps company with.”
He attacked Mr Trump – who also hosted Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban at his Florida home on Friday – for “sucking up to wannabe dictators and authoritarian thugs all over the world”.
Source BBC News
