Trump and Biden clash on COVID-19 as they hold rallies in battleground state Florida

TAMPA, Fla., (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden showcased their contrasting approaches to the resurgent coronavirus pandemic as they rallied supporters yesterday in the battleground state of Florida with the clock winding down to Election Day.

Opinion polls show Biden with a significant edge nationally, but with a tighter lead in the battleground states that play a decisive role in the final result.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday showed Trump had essentially moved into a tie with Biden in Florida, with 49% saying they would vote for Biden and 47% for the president.

With its 29 electoral votes, the state is a major prize in Tuesday's election. Trump's victory in Florida in 2016 was vital to his surprise election win.

Thousands of people, many of them without masks, crowded together at an outdoor event in Tampa on Thursday to hear Trump mock his opponent, the former vice president.

"Could you imagine losing to this guy? Could you imagine?" Trump said. The president also downplayed the pandemic, as he has done throughout the year, telling people that if they contracted the virus, they would "get better," just as he did after his own diagnosis.

Hours later, Biden arrived in the same city to hold a "drive-in" rally, where attendees remained in or near their cars to avoid the possible spread of the virus, his second such event of the day in Florida. Supporters at the event wore masks, as required by Biden's campaign, although they did not always maintain social distancing.

Biden criticized Trump for holding what he termed a "super-spreader event" and attacked the president's repeated assertion that the country had moved past the worst days of the pandemic, despite rising cases nationwide.