U.S. first lady Melania Trump speaks during a campaign event in Atglen, Pa., U.S., Oct. 27, 2020. Reuters

Melania Trump lined up squarely with her husband Tuesday on her first solo trip of the 2020 campaign, slamming Joe Biden, Democrats and the media as she pushed the president's reeelection message in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

The first lady defended Donald Trump's record on COVID-19 even as he continues to play down the threat of a virus that has killed more than 226,000 Americans. She sought to shift the blame to Democrats, who she said tried to ''put their own agendas ahead of the American people's well-being'' and focused on a ''sham impeachment'' instead of the coronavirus.

Mrs. Trump also denounced what she called Biden's ''socialist agenda'' and criticized media coverage of ''idle gossip and palace intrigue'' in the White House.

Biden's ''policies and socialist agenda will only serve to destroy America and all that has been built in the past four years,'' she said. ''We must keep Donald in the White House so he can finish what he's started and our country can continue to flourish.''

The first lady, who recently recovered from what she has described as a mild case of COVID-19, appeared on a day when Pennsylvania health authorities reported a recording-shattering 2,751 new virus infections statewide. COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in Pennsylvania have more than doubled since the beginning of October.