Despite that, you still really want to get out to a rally to hear your presidential candidates talk about what they’d do for you if they’re elected.
Some Joe Biden supporters in the US are getting the chance to do that at drive-in rallies.
Biden has been conducting the socially distanced rally alternatives in some key states ahead of the November election, looking out over windscreens instead of faces to the sound of car horns.
What does a drive-in rally look like?
Much as you’d expect — attendees park their cars around a stage where Biden stands to speak to the crowd, often in front of a large projector screen to help visibility.
Drive-in rallies have been held in states including North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania.
On Sunday, the Biden roadshow rolled into Durham, North Carolina, where he addressed a crowd of about 70 cars from a stage set up in a high school car park.
Biden walked out onto the makeshift outdoor set to a chorus of cheers and honking car horns.
Trump is racing from rally to rally. But is it helping him?
There are 15 days left until Election Day. Tens of millions of Americans have already voted. Joseph R. Biden Jr. is leading in the polls, and President Trump’s last chance to turn things around might be the second — and last — presidential debate on Thursday.
And so far, Mr. Trump is not doing formal debate prep.
Rather than attending a pre-debate boot camp to help him avoid a repeat of last month’s poorly-reviewed performance against Mr. Biden, the president appears likely to spend most of the week on a kind of political joy ride, flitting from rally to rally and revving up his grateful, mostly maskless crowds. He kicks off the week with two such events in Arizona, stumping up north in Prescott and then down in Tucson.
Republicans hope that Mr. Trump’s travels will excite conservative voters who might otherwise be somewhat demoralized at this point in the race, and drive them to the polls in greater numbers.
But since leaving the hospital two weeks ago after being treated for the coronavirus, he has not delivered any kind of focused political message and has at times done more harm than good at his events: On Saturday, for instance, he railed against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan at an event in her home state, stoking “lock her up” chants against a popular Democrat who was recently the target of a violent militant plot.
Arizona may be a particularly delicate venue for Mr. Trump: At stake are not only the state’s 11 Electoral College votes but also a competitive Senate race, a vulnerable Republican House seat and the G.O.P. majority in the State Legislature. Mr. Trump’s divisive approach has helped upend the Republicans’ longtime dominance in Arizona politics, sending suburban voters and retirees racing into the Democratic camp and stirring greater participation among core Democratic groups.
For Arizona Republicans who already have a thin grip on power there, a let-it-rip Trump rally might be a mixed blessing in late October.
Mr. Biden, meanwhile, is expected to keep a low profile in the next few days as he prepares for the debate. Though his campaign continues to insist that the race is closer than public polls suggest, the former vice president appears likely to maintain his reserved approach to public campaigning and focus above all on denying Mr. Trump the opportunities he needs to change the basic dynamics of the race.
