WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2020) US President Donald Trump rallied loyalists, many without facemasks, in three battleground states on Saturday, the day after COVID-19 cases set a new daily record, while former Vice President Joe Biden played it safe, limiting his appearances to two drive-in events where voters listened from cars.
Biden scheduled two appearances in Pennsylvania - a key battleground - with the first event featuring about 100 cars festooned with Biden 2000 campaign banners and supporters socially distanced in a parking lot.
"I don't like the idea of all this distance, but it's necessary," Biden said. "We don't want to become superspreaders."
For his part, Trump mocked Biden's cautious approach to campaigning at the first of three scheduled rallies in the state of North Carolina.
"People in cars. I don't get it. They're in cars," Trump told a crowd of thousands of people. "There were so few cars. I've never seen an audience like this."
Typical of Trump rallies, many refused to wear facemasks.
Trump, who began the day by voting in Florida, also planned rallies in Ohio and Wisconsin.
The contrast between the two events reflected a key moment in Thursday's final debate in which Trump urged people to "learn to live" with the virus, to which Biden retorted that people are "learning to die."
The latest tally from Johns Hopkins University put the total number of COVID-19 cases in the US at more than 8.5 million with over 224,700 deaths.
The US faces a spike in coronavirus cases as the presidential campaign enters its final days, with new cases setting a daily record of 83,010 on Friday, along with a steep climb in hospitalizations, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
Friday's total surpassed the tracking project's previous record of 76,842 on July 17.
In addition, hospitalizations have also risen sharply, from less than 30,000 in late September to 41,875 on Friday.
TRUMP FOCUSED ON ECONOMY, BEDEN ON HEALTH
Despite the rising number of infections, Trump continued to push for an end to virus-related lockdowns, pointing to his own infection as an example of facing the threat and moving on.
"I had it. Here I am!" Trump said on Saturday.
Trump also continued to downplay the severity of the pandemic, claiming that the increase in coronavirus cases is due to increased testing, while saying the nation's mortality rate has fallen as doctors and hospitals deploy improved treatments to manage the illness.
For his part, Biden continued to seize on Trump's handling of the coronavirus, claiming the president's failure to protect Americans makes him unsuited for a second term.
In Pennsylvania, Biden emphasized his "plan to deal with this pandemic responsibly, bringing the country around to testing and tracing and masking and social distancing."
In the past, Biden has called for a nationwide mask mandate, although he has avoided saying how such a rule would be enforced. Many Trump supporters refuse to cover their faces, claiming masks are ineffective against the disease.
The national polling average continued to show Trump trailing Biden by wide margins.
The average compiled by RealClearPolitics' showed Biden leading by 7.9 points, down from a 9-point gap a week ago. The FiveThirtyEight poll average showed Biden with a 9.8 point margin, compared with 10.5 points a week ago.
However, poll watchers say the election will be decided in battleground states. Two polls taken Friday, the day after the debate, showed Biden winning Pennsylvania by 7 points and 9 points, while a poll of North Carolina voters depicted the race as a tie.
