Day of rallies as Trump and Biden deliver one last push
DONALD TRUMP began a final marathon yesterday in an attempt to translate his large crowds into votes as he finished his US re-election bid.
The president held five rallies in five battleground states – with another seven today, the last full day of campaigning.
With time running out, Mr Trump turned to supporters to keep his message in front of the nation.
Down in the polls to Joe Biden, his Democratic rival, he risked his raucous, often unmasked crowds deepening the coronavirus pandemic at a time when cases are surging across the US.
But he continues to see his showmanship as a central element of his appeal.
‘Is there a better place to be any time, anywhere than a Trump rally?’ he asked to roars of approval in Butler, Pennsylvania.
With more than 91million votes already cast, each rival is making sure remaining supporters come out in person tomorrow. Mr Biden’s team are confident in his standing with women, college-educated voters and those living in the suburbs.
But some Democrats worry that the push to encourage postal voting, to prevent people having to queue during the pandemic, goes against the tradition of black voters who prefer to vote in person on election day.
Mr Biden spent yesterday in Philadelphia encouraging black church congregations to organise and vote. On Saturday he held his first inperson campaign events with former president Barack Obama in the predominantly black cities of Detroit and Flint, Michigan.
‘Most black voters in Philly have been sceptical of mail-in voting,’ said Joe Hill, a veteran Democratic lobbyist. ‘Election day has always been everything in Philadelphia.’