Donald Trump tonight told voters there was "no way" he would have visited their town before the pandemic struck.
The President visited Erie, Pennsylvania for a rally tonight, as he continues to trail frontrunner Joe Biden in national election polls.
But he let slip that traipsing to the town wasn't originally part of his plan for two weeks ahead of polling day.
"Four or five months ago when we started this whole thing," he said, "before the plague came in I had it made."
He said: "I wasn't coming to Erie. I have to be honest. There was no way I was coming. I didn't have to.
"I would have picked up the phone and said 'Hey Erie, if you have a chance, get out and vote.'
"We had this thing won. We were so far up, greatest economy ever, greatest jobs ever, everything."
President Trump has consistently trailed Joe Biden for at least the last 12 months.
In January and February, before the virus hit, national poll averages put Biden between five and six points ahead of the President.
"And then we got hit with the plague," he President continued. "And I had to go back to work.
"'Hello, Erie. May I please have your vote?'"
He added: "I love Erie."
The routine appeared to be met with a muted response from the crowd.
Earlier, Trump 'abruptly ended' an interview with premier US news magazine TV show 60 minutes - before attacking his interviewer on Twitter.
The President tweeted a video of host Lesley Stahl apparently not wearing a mask as the programme was being recorded.
Trump said there was "much more to come."
He later threatened to release his own video of the interview before it is due to air on Sunday, "so that everybody can get a glimpse of what a FAKE and BIASED interview is all about."
But later it was reported there had been "drama" during the taping of the programme.
CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins tweeted that the President had ended his interview "abruptly" after around 45 minutes.
