Donald Trump returned to Presidential Campaign with his event at the White House on October 10. Let’s take a look at where Trump and his campaign lie as we near the end of the US Presidential Race 2020.
Trump held his first public event on October 10 at the White House with hundreds in attendance. The event marked Trump’s official return to the presidential campaign after being infected by COVID virus. “We’re starting very, very big with the rallies, and with our everything,” Trump told the crowded group of conservative activists while standing on a balcony. “Because we cannot allow our country to become a socialist nation.”
White House physician Dr. Sean Conley released a statement on Saturday night, saying Donald Trump “is no longer considered a transmission risk to others.” The statement did not clarify whether the president had tested negative for the virus. Conley highlighted that Trump had been “fever-free for well over 24 hours” and “sequential testing throughout his illness has demonstrated decreasing viral loads.”
Watch: Trump addresses supporters from White House balcony
This has led to negative headlines with many wondering if it is safe for the President to travel right now. Biden criticized Trump for not following public health guidelines at crowded events. “I think it’s important that he make it clear to all the people that they should be socially distanced, they can be on the lawn, that’s fine… But in fact, they should be socially distanced and wearing masks. That’s the only responsible thing to do.”
But the bottom line is that Trump is going to travel and his next destination is Florida. So, here’s a look at the important swing states that top Trump’s campaign trail agenda.
Florida
Trump won Florida in 2016 United States Presidential Elections with a plurality of 49.0% of the popular vote that included a 1.2% winning margin over Hillary Clinton, who had 47.8% of the vote. The Southern state has been a Republican stronghold since Ronald Reagan in 1980. Latest polls show that Biden is up by 3.1%.
Trump has been rallying for Hispanic votes, namely conservative-leaning Cuban Americans. Biden draws his support mainly from the state’s seniors, another crucial voting bloc, and white voters.
According to the New York Times, 11.5 per cent of Democrats who requested absentee ballots have returned them, compared with 8.7 per cent of Republicans. The reason might be Trump’s incessant undermining of voting by mail. Alex Conant, a veteran adviser to Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, said “In Florida, Republicans have a really good early-vote program,” he said. “The president takes advantage of it. So why would the president tell Republicans in Florida not to vote early, when historically that’s how we run elections in Florida, is very concerning.”
In Florida, Trump will be rallying for Hispanic votes, namely conservative-leaning Cuban Americans.
North Carolina
The absentee ballot pattern of Florida repeats in North Carolina where the return rate for Democratic ballots is 32.9 per cent and the return rate for Republicans is 27.4 per cent.
The state has voted Republican just once in the last four Presidential elections. Trump won in 2016 by 15 electoral votes. Currently, Biden is up by 2.8% in the state. Even though Democratic-leaning counties around Asheville and Charlotte have shown high rates of absentee voting so far but the Black majority, rural Democratic counties have shown some of the state’s lowest turnout ratios so far. The state can go in either direction and is definitely one of the crucial states in the 2020 Presidential Elections.
North Carolina has voted for the Republican nominee just once in the last four Presidential elections.
Iowa
Trump is currently up by 0.3 per cent in the state. The state has just six electoral votes and was an easy win for Trump in 2016. Trump has been seeking the support of the working class of the extraordinarily white state on illegal immigration and trade issues. The Democrats have been nervous about the state since the very beginning. Iowa is one of the fourteen states that will see fierce competition from both sides.
Trump has been seeking the support of the extraordinarily white state Iowa on issues like illegal immigration and trade.
Arizona
Arizona was once a conservative stronghold but can’t be held as a reliable win for Trump. Currently, Biden is up by more than 3 per cent but Latino voters form a crucial part of Arizona’s electorate, a section whose favor for Biden has shrunk over time. But Trump has been unpopular despite the Republican attention due to his COVID response and treatment of minorities.
Apart from the ones on Trump’s Campaign trail plan, other states that will see a fierce competition are Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump’s attitude in the last 20 days could be crucial for his chances in the 2020 Presidential Elections. Till now, it looks like the Republicans are concentrating on Trump’s recovery and building the optics around how ‘strong’ the President is, which plays well for the Conservative supporters. But the President has to do more than playing hero to overcome the major shortcomings in his term, particularly COVID response.
Trump’s attitude in the last 20 days could be crucial for his chances in the 2020 Presidential Elections.
