Trump returns to the trail in Florida as running mate deadline approaches

After spending much of the past week out of public view as President Biden faced doubts among Democrats, former President Donald J. Trump returns to the campaign trail Tuesday night with a rally at his luxury golf resort in Doral, Florida.

Mr. Trump’s rally, at Trump National Doral Golf Club, comes as the deadline for him to select a running mate fast approaches. His pick will be formally nominated at the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday, and advisers have said Mr. Trump is likely to announce his selection before the convention begins.

Tuesday’s meeting will be closely watched to see who Trump might pick. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the leading candidates, is expected to speak before Trump takes the stage.

While Trump is typically a news-loving figure and has for months reveled in the attention generated by speculation about his running mate, he has largely stayed out of the spotlight over the past two weeks as President Biden grapples with the fallout from his mistakes during last month’s presidential debate.

As Democratic panic mounted over Biden’s fitness, raising questions about whether he should remain on the ticket in November, Trump largely refrained from comment for days, a strategy advisers said reflected his desire for Biden to remain his opponent in the fall. He gave no interviews and held no public events.

But Mr. Trump entered the conversation late last week with social media posts ridiculing Mr. Biden. And during an interview on Fox News on Monday night, he told Sean Hannity that he thought Mr. Biden “could very well stay in the race,” something Mr. Biden has said he will do.

Trump also admitted that his campaign had been preparing for months to take on Biden. “Well, we’ve been preparing for him,” he said when asked if he thought Biden should step aside. “But I don’t think it matters.”