WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina caps outdoor gatherings at 50 people to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, but don’t tell that to President Donald Trump. He basked in a largely maskless crowd of several thousand supporters during a campaign rally in this critical state.
“As far as the eye can see,” Trump said, reveling at the sight of people flouting public health guidelines at Tuesday’s event. “I really believe that these crowds are bigger than they were four years ago.”
President Donald Trump stands on stage after speaking at a campaign rally at Smith Reynolds Airport, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in Winston-Salem, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)A day earlier in Pennsylvania, Trump’s Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, held a socially distanced meeting in a backyard. His team has been so attentive to local regulations that some staffers have left the room if they risked breaking the rules on crowd limits.
“I really miss being able to, you know, grab hands and shake hands,” Biden recently told supporters. “You can’t do that now.”
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during an event with local union members in the backyard of a home in Lancaster, Pa., Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)With less than eight weeks until the Nov. 3 election, Trump and Biden are taking diametrically opposite approaches to campaigning during a pandemic – and the differences amount to more than political theater. The candidates are effectively staking out different visions for the country. Biden emphasizes guidelines supported by local health officials while Trump rails against restrictions that he argues, without evidence, are politically motivated.