Trump to take US re-election campaign back on the road

US President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign is to be rebooted as he gets back on the road.

It comes after a hiatus caused by a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases and after his planned comeback in Oklahoma turned into a debacle. Mr Trump, trailing Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the polls, is eager to signal that normal life can resume despite a virus that has killed more than 130,000 Americans.

He held his first in-person fundraiser in a month last night in Florida and then a rally tonight in New Hampshire.

The president’s rally in Portsmouth was scheduled after aides spent weeks studying what went wrong in Tulsa three weeks ago. It was billed as a massive, defiant return to the political stage but instead produced a humiliating sea of empty seats and questions about the campaign’s ability to attract people to large events in a pandemic.

His visits take him to terrain where Covid-19’s surge threatens his hold on must-win states.