OBAMA STARTS CAMPAIGN FOR BIDEN IN PHILADELPHIA

Former US President Barack Obama made his first appearance on the campaign trail on Wednesday (Thursday, October 22, 2020) for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is locked in a tight race with President Donald Trump in crucial states 13 days before the Nov. 3 election. 

Obama, who served eight years in office with Biden as his vice president, urged supporters to vote early for Biden and other Democratic candidates in the general election at an outdoor drive-in rally in Pennsylvania’s biggest city, Philadelphia, an aide to the former president said, Trevor Hunnicutt reported for Reuters. The rare public appearance by Obama, a frequent target for Trump’s attacks and still one of the Democratic Party’s biggest stars nearly four years after leaving the White House, comes at a critical time. 

Biden and Trump meet in their second and final debate on Thursday night, giving the Republican an opportunity to change the trajectory of a race that Biden is leading in national polls. Biden’s campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, has warned staff and supporters she sees a far closer race in the 17 states the campaign considers battlegrounds than is suggested by the national polls showing a consistent lead for Biden. 

“As President Obama has said, this is an all-hands-on-deck moment, and he looks forward to hitting the trail in person, socially distanced, since we’re just two weeks out from the most important election of our lifetimes,” the Obama aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Biden regards his birthplace of Pennsylvania, a state Democrats narrowly lost to Trump in 2016, as a bellwether he must win. The former vice president has visited the state more than any other during the general election campaign. Biden leads Pennsylvania with 49% to Trump’s 45%.