Standing alone and not wearing a mask, Trump spoke from the White House balcony at an event on Saturday called "a peaceful protest for law and order," attended by a few hundred people standing on the lawn below.
His appearance is seen as a first step toward resuming full campaigning next week. As well as a rally in Florida next week, he added two more - in Iowa and Pennsylvania.
Speaking without hesitation, Trump appeared to be back to his usual rallying form, boasting about his record and hurling unsubstantiated allegations against his opponents as a packed crowd of supporters chanted, "We love you."
It was the first public event Trump has held since he was released from the hospital on Monday, when some observers watching his return to the White House said he appeared at times to be short of breath.
The White House has released videos and Trump has called into television shows since then, but this was the public's first chance to see the president live.
The White House has not released the results of Trump's latest Covid-19 test, and has declined to say when he last tested negative.
Scott Atlas, the doctor advising Trump, declined to comment on Trump's last test when approached by Reuters outside the event cordon. He was not wearing a mask.
Trump, who has campaigned on a law-and-order theme during recent months of sometimes violent protests for racial justice, told Saturday's gathering that the Republican Party had the support of America's police forces.
"We have law enforcement watching," he said. "We're on the side of right."
Trump's efforts to portray himself as tough on crime have had little impact on his standing in national opinion polls, which show him trailing his Democratic challenger Joe Biden by double digits.
But the gap between the two candidates is narrower in the battleground states that may determine who wins the White House on November 3.
CASES SURGE
New cases of coronavirus in the United States hit a two-month high on Friday with over 58,000 infections of the coronavirus reported and hospitalisations in the Midwest at record levels for a fifth day in a row, according to a Reuters analysis.
Ten of the 50 states reported record one-day rises in cases on Friday, including the Midwestern states of Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio. Wisconsin and Illinois recorded over 3000 new cases for a second day in a row - a two-day trend not seen even during the height of the previous outbreak in the spring, according to Reuters data.
The Western states of Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming also reported their biggest one-day jumps in cases, as did Oklahoma and West Virginia.
Nineteen states have seen record increases in new cases so far in October.
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Wow. What fake news reporting. Dig, dig, poke, poke, all the usual Trump hating.
The crowd were all invited by Blackext, run by Candace Owens and they were all thrilled to be at the White House.
The elite establishment, both Republican and Democrat are having a meltdown.
As Trump says, the swamp is draining. He is good medicine for the West and as is often the case, for some the medicine tastes bitter but the results of turning back the globalist agenda of sending blue collar jobs to China has to turn the corner in all developed countries.
NZ has to do the same. Bring back work and pride to the working class. Build up the middle class. Crush the elites on one side and state dependants on the other mode of governance and life.
If we want to stamp out child poverty and poor housing in NZ, this is what needs to be done.
More taxes and more 'benefits' does NOT lift people up, it simply lowers everyone down.