Trump launches frenzied final campaign offensive in bid to reverse polls

Washington DC/ New York City/ Miami, Nov 1 (efe-epa).- The United States electoral campaign entered its last two days with President Donald Trump immersed in a frantic last-minute bid to turn around adverse polls that lean toward his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Trump began Sunday with an event on a rainy day in Washington DC in Michigan state, promising that there would be no more lockdowns or business closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He was signaling a clear message against his opponent and the Democratic governors who have sought restrictive measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has caused more than nine million infections and 230,000 deaths in the US.

The Democratic candidate was quick to respond to the president through his official Twitter account, saying that “more than 230,000 Americans have died from Covid-19 –– and Donald Trump has given up on trying to get the virus under control.”

“If we didn’t win last time, I probably wouldn’t even be standing here,” Trump said, acknowledging the importance of the Midwestern state for the electoral victory on Tuesday, and where polls put him slightly behind Biden.

His appearance before his fervent supporters in Michigan was the first during a campaigning marathon with stops in Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

With just three days left for Election Day, voting intention polls continue to favor Biden, who is 10 percentage points ahead of Trump.

The Wall Street Journal said Sunday that 52 percent of registered voters have expressed their support for Biden, while 42 percent have done so for Trump.

However, the survey conducted by the newspaper and NBC News notes that the lead narrows in key regions, especially in 12 battleground states, where Biden’s lead is reduced to six points.

Meanwhile, a poll published by The New York Times newspaper on Sunday found that Biden is leading in four swing states, where Trump beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 elections.

These include Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Florida.

According to the newspaper, Biden is leading Trump by 6 points (49-43) in Arizona, by 3 in Florida (47-44), by 6 in Pennsylvania (49-43), and by 11 in Wisconsin (52-41).

A final blitz by the candidates coincides with the end of in-person early voting in states such as New York, a Democratic stronghold, and critical battleground, Florida.

In New York City, where Biden is expected to win, more than a million people have taken the opportunity to cast their ballots in the first presidential elections in which the option to vote early was an option.

In 2016, more than 2.6 million people voted on Election Day in the Big Apple.

At a polling station in the Madison Square Garden arena in Manhattan, Danielle Sintra told EFE that she came to vote on Sunday as last weekend when the early voting centers opened, the queue went around the building.

The place appeared deserted until noon when people started arriving to cast their ballots without having to wait, as had happened in the first few days of early voting.

In Florida, where in addition to the Republican candidate, Jill Biden, Joe Biden’s wife, is expected to hold a rally, 61.85 percent of registered voters have already voted.

However, the candidates do not seem to have given up on convincing the remaining 39.15 percent to break the almost technical tie between them.

Analysts agree that Trump needs to win in Florida, which contributes 29 of the 270 Electoral College votes required to be declared the winner of the presidential election