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Donald Trump and Joe Biden face rallies in key Midwest states on Friday as a resurgent coronavirus further highlights their stark differences just four days before the US presidential election.
Even with the United States hitting another daily record for new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, President Trump maintained his strategy of minimizing their danger and calling for the companies to reopen.
He has also stepped up fear propaganda, warning of angry “socialists” and seeking to portray his Democratic rival as an attempt to shut down the country.
Biden has tried to persuade the few remaining undecided voters that he would put a firm hand on the wheel and heal the “soul” of America, calling Trump irresponsible.
The former vice president has held drive-in rallies, socially distanced, while Trump’s meetings have often seen attendees ignore those guidelines and avoid masks.
The two candidates plan to be in three Midwestern states on Friday, and both will campaign in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Trump will also travel to Michigan and Biden also plans to be in Iowa.
Trump’s victories in Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa helped propel him to victory in 2016.
But survey averages from the RealClearPolitics.com site show Biden in all four states, ranging from 6.5 percentage points in Michigan to just one point in Iowa.
Still, both Democrats and Republicans have repeatedly warned about the unreliability of the polls, pointing to Trump’s shocking defeat over Hillary Clinton in 2016 even though polls show she is the clear favorite.
Trump and Biden are concentrating their efforts on the battleground states that will decide the election in the days leading up to the Nov.3 election, and on Thursday they were both in the crucial state of Florida.
Trump, 74, held another raucous rally in Tampa, telling the cheering crowd that the coronavirus lockdowns under Biden would end normal life.
“They will not allow you anything,” said the Republican.
“We will never lock ourselves in again … We are open for business,” he said, telling his followers that his own recent fight with Covid-19 showed that he can be beaten.
“You know, the bottom line is that you improve,” he said.
But the pandemic, which has already claimed 228,000 American lives, has proven its resilience and is experiencing a long-predicted second wave.
More than 91,000 new infections were recorded in the United States on Thursday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the highest total in 24 hours since the pandemic began.
However, Trump received good news Thursday in his argument that he is in the best position to achieve an economic recovery.
The new figures showed an annual growth rate of 33.1 percent in the third quarter, a staggering statistic that reflects the rebound in the economy from such a low base.
Biden, addressing a socially estranged drive-in event in Broward County, reminded supporters that out of every state there are few as important as Florida in deciding the outcome of tight elections.
Refuting Trump’s central accusation, the 77-year-old emphasized his claim that he would bring in responsible leadership after months of the White House downplaying the danger of the virus.
“I’m not going to shut down the economy, I’m not going to shut down the country. I’m going to end the virus,” he said in Tampa.
While Trump mocks him for holding small campaign events, Biden said he was leading by example, rather than organizing the president’s “super broadcast” events.
“The heart and soul of this country are at stake,” he said.
Trump sets the pace with a hectic schedule, but Biden’s surprisingly quiet campaign is also picking up speed.
After Florida, Trump flew to Fort Bragg in North Carolina to meet with troops. A planned rally in the launch state has been postponed until Monday due to weather, the campaign said.
Mother Nature also intruded on Biden’s rally in Tampa, as a heavy downpour forced him to interrupt his remarks.
Trump defeated Clinton in Florida in 2016, but an NBC News / Marist poll published Thursday had Biden leading 51-47 points there.
A staggering 81 million Americans have already cast their votes at the start of the hugely important elections.
burs-mjs / mtp
