The dire warnings -- reliant on false information and racist tropes -- foreshadowed a bitter fall campaign as Trump seeks to reverse a slide in the polls.
And they presaged a drawn out post-election battle as Trump preempted a potential loss with warnings of fraud.
"The only way we're going to lose this election is if this election is rigged," he said during a stop in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the second of several battleground events he is using this week to counterprogram the Democrats' all-digital convention.
Leaning heavily on the "law and order" mantle he adopted in the wake of racially charged protests earlier this summer, Trump declared it "crunch time" for a campaign that many of his advisers have been urging him to focus on more intently as Election Day nears.
Over the past week, Trump's attempts at shoring up his political standing have taken on a frantic and often conspiratorial energy, including attempts to limit mail-in voting by refusing new funding for the post office, racist and sexist attacks on former Vice President Joe Biden's new running mate and persistent unfounded warnings that November's vote will be rigged.
He appeared to inject a new scheme meant to deprive him of a second term on Monday: a "deep state" he is concerned might announce a coronavirus vaccine on November 4 -- the day after the election.
"I don't need that," he said during his late-afternoon speech in Wisconsin, which he also used to escalate his attacks on Biden to dramatic new levels as he hopes to blunt whatever bounce his rival might enjoy from this week's convention.
"Do you want to be ruled by the radical left-wing mob or do you want to stand tall as free men and women in the greatest country on Earth?" Trump asked, echoing equally pessimistic remarks earlier Monday in Minnesota.
"We're going to have an election that is all about the survival of the nation," Trump told a crowd that had gathered inside an airport hanger south of Minneapolis for a scaled-down version of one of his signature rallies.
"Joe Biden is the puppet of left-wing extremists trying to erase our borders, eliminate our police, indoctrinate our children, vilify our heroes, take away our energy," Trump added, claiming Biden was looking to "replace American freedom with left-wing fascism."
"Fascists," he said. "They are fascists."
Series of stops
Unwilling to cede the week to Democrats as they convene their presidential nominating convention, Trump was planning a series of stops in battleground states, including near Biden's hometown in Pennsylvania on Thursday, the same day he's expected to formally accept the Democratic nomination.
Trump also plans to travel to Arizona, and said Monday he would stop in Iowa to survey storm damage.
All states will prove essential for Trump if he hopes to win in November. Polls have shown him trailing Biden badly, though a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released on Monday showed the race tightening.
Once his trademark political event, massive arena rallies appear off-limits for the foreseeable future amid concerns about the st
