Trump, Biden campaigning differs amid pandemic

With less than eight weeks until v. 3 election, Trump and Biden are taking diametrically opposite approaches to campaigning during a pandemic — and differences amount to more than political ater.

candidates are effectively staking out different visions for country. Biden emphasizes guidelines supported by local health officials while Trump rails against restrictions that he argues, without evidence, are politically motivated.

" circumstances of virus really have t changed. We're still in a period where you have hot spots that pop up. Maybe an overall decline, but that death toll is still going up. Essentially, we've just gotten into final stretch," said Bill Barrow, a national political reporter for Associated Press.

rth Carolina caps outdoor garings at 50 people to prevent spread of vel 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.

Barrow believes that local coronavirus restrictions put in by a state or a goverr is t going to prevent "a Donald Trump rally of any size or scope."

"President Trump is traveling more and more. His rallies are getting bigger and bigger, and it's secret that president didn't like being restricted in first place," Barrow said. "He's sort of throwing off any shackles and getting back to his form of those big rallies. y're at airport hangars w, t in arenas, but that's Donald Trump brand. And I think we'll see that between w and vember."

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 room if y risked breaking rules on crowd limits.

" Biden campaign has indicated that it will continue to hor local and state guidelines," Barrow said. "And y have talked about idea of maybe some drive-in crowds that would allow for bigger numbers, but it still follows social distancing guidelines. So that's a possibility."

Biden's crowds, in fact, have been far smaller than Trump's. former vice president has appeared in public sparingly since pandemic, and with strictest adherence to state guidelines: 25 people in Pennsylvania, 10 people indoors in Michigan, and mandatory face-coverings all around. Biden's approach reflects reluctance of many of his supporters to attend large garings.

For someone who has never been a natural in an arena, smaller events allow Biden to have more personal interactions with representatives from important voting blocs, including labor and community leaders.