Donald Trump goes to church as battle with Joe Biden heats up

President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden went on the offensive Sunday, with each campaign in the states that are trying to change during the Nov.3 election just over two weeks apart.

Trump began his day in Nevada, paying a rare visit to the church before an evening rally in Carson City. Once considered a battlefield, Nevada hasn’t leaned toward a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

While sitting in the front row at the Las Vegas Nondenominational International Church, Trump received blessings from the church’s pastors, and Denise Goulet told attendees that God told her that Trump is the apple of her eye and that she would ensure a second term.

“At 4.30, the Lord said to me, ‘I’m going to give your president a second victory,” he said, and told Trump, “you will be president again.”

Trump offered brief comments, saying “I love going to churches” and that it was “a great honor” to attend the service. The president also said that “we have a group on the other side that does not agree with us,” and urged people to “leave on November 3 or earlier” to vote. He dropped a wad of $ 20 bills into the collection plate before leaving.

Biden, a practicing Catholic, attended Mass in Delaware before flying to North Carolina, which a Democratic presidential candidate has not won since Barack Obama in 2008.

Both are looking to fight their way into states that could help secure a path to victory, but the dynamics of the race are remarkably stable. Biden enjoys a significant advantage in national polls, while he has a smaller advantage in battlefield polls.

But he also has another considerable advantage over Trump: money. Over the past four months, his campaign has raised more than $ 1 billion, and that has allowed him to eclipse Trump’s once-huge cash advantage.

That advantage is evident in advertising, where Biden and his Democratic allies are on track to outspend Trump and Republicans twice in the final days of the race, according to data from ad-tracking firm Kantar / CMAG.

In Nevada, Democrats will spend more than Trump in recent days by more than 3 to 1. But it is also a state that Trump came close to winning in 2016.

Trump’s comments at the Las Vegas church were tempered by the scare tactics he leaned into during Saturday’s protests in Wisconsin and Michigan.

While trying to prevent more voters from turning against him, Trump tried to paint Democrats as “anti-American radicals” in a “crusade against American history.” He told moderate voters that they had a “moral duty” to join the Republican Party.

Biden began his day with a Mass in Delaware at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine, as he does almost every week. He and his wife, Jill, came in wearing dark-colored masks. She was carrying a bouquet of flowers that included pink roses.

The church is a few minutes drive from Biden’s house. Beau, Biden’s son, who died of brain cancer in 2015, is buried in the cemetery on his grounds. Joe and Jill Biden visited the grave after the service.

If elected, Biden would be just the second Catholic president in American history and the first since John F. Kennedy. Biden speaks frequently about his faith and its importance in his life.

Trump attends church much less frequently, but has received strong support from white evangelical leaders and frequently hosts groups of pastors in the White House. Trump often goes to Bethesda-By-The Sea Church near Mar-a-Lago in Florida for major holidays, including Easter, and attended a Christmas Eve service last year at Family Church in West Palm Beach before the start of the coronavirus pandemic. .

As the virus forced most churches to pause in-person services this spring, Trump announced plans to tune in to live worship led by some top evangelical supporters, including the megachurch-based pastor’s Easter service. in Texas, Robert Jeffress, and a March service in Georgia. Jentezen Franklin-based pastor. – AP