Despite all this, Trump was as defiant as ever, revving up his base with everything from calls for the death penalty for drug dealers; the need to get rid of “critical race theory” in schools; and discriminatory sentiments against transgender athletes.

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His angriest attack was on the FBI raid itself, claiming that “what the FBI did was corruption and election interference on a scale that we have never seen before in our country”.

“Just a few weeks ago, you saw one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history,” Trump said.

“We’re like a third world nation. They rifled through the First Lady’s closet drawers and everything else, and even did a deep and ugly search of the room of my 16-year-old son, leaving everything they touched in a far different condition than it was when they started. Can you believe it?”

The August 8 search took place after the Justice Department began investigating Trump because it believed he had unlawfully taken documents from the White House, including material that could compromise global intelligence sources and some of the nation’s top secrets.

Since then, the department has issued a court filing that makes it clear that the investigation into Trump goes well beyond allegations of mishandling government documents, but rather, lays out a case for potential obstruction of justice against the former president and his aides.

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Neither Biden nor Trump are on the ballot for the midterms, which tend to be a referendum on the president of the day. However, with Biden struggling for much of this year over record high inflation, soaring gas prices, and his overall leadership abilities, the White House has sought to make the election a referendum that is largely on Trump himself, knowing that the Democrats are more likely to be activated to turn out in force at the polls.

Pennsylvania is shaping up to be the ultimate battleground state because it is viewed as the Democrats’ best chance of flipping a seat in the Senate, which could help them retain their wafer thin majority in the all-important chamber.

In a sign of its importance, Biden will return to Pennsylvania on Monday for a Labour Day speech in Pittsburgh – his third in the state in a week.

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Trump, meanwhile, also used his rally to urge Republicans to vote, telling them: “We are just a few months away from the most important midterm election in American history.

“We need a landslide so big .... This is the year we’re going to take back the House, we’re going to take back the Senate – and we’re going to take back America. ”

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