JUDY WOODRUFF: The clock is ticking down, and the candidates' schedules are tightening
up tonight in the U.S. presidential race.
And, as they enter the homestretch, the coronavirus is again roiling the race.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: So, thank you very much, Allentown.
JOE BIDEN (D), Presidential Candidate: And I like Luzerne County!
JUDY WOODRUFF: As the candidates enter the final week of the presidential campaign, the
COVID-19 pandemic is top of mind.
The White House has once again been rattled by the virus, after at least five of Vice
President Pence's close aides tested positive over the weekend.
White House doctors said he's considered essential personnel and cleared Mr. Pence to keep up
his schedule, stumping today in Minnesota.
MIKE PENCE, Vice President of the United States: Four more years means more jobs in the Iron
Range and all over Minnesota. Four more years means more judges who will defend our liberties.
Four more years means more support for our police and more support for our troops.
JUDY WOODRUFF: But the rally also violated state's COVID restrictions, as many of President
Trump's campaign events have done.
This comes after the U.S. set a new daily record for COVID-19 infections on Friday and
nearly matched that high on Saturday, more than 83,000 new cases.
President Trump continues to assure Americans the virus is under control, and he claims
the number of cases is surging because the country has ramped up testing.
In fact, records show testing accounts for only a small percentage of the rise in cases.
But, on Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made this concession:
MARK MEADOWS, White House Chief of Staff: We're not going to control the pandemic. We
are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation
areas...
(CROSSTALK)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN: Why aren't we going to get control?
JUDY WOODRUFF: For his part, President Trump made three stops today in the battleground
state of Pennsylvania.
DONALD TRUMP: Pennsylvania gets it. By the way, we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole
thing. You got to get out there.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
DONALD TRUMP: Got to win. Big deal, right?
JUDY WOODRUFF: Meanwhile, this afternoon, Biden paid a brief visit to a site involved
in turning out Democratic voters in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
JOE BIDEN: The bottom line is, Donald Trump is the worst possible president, the worst
possible person to try to lead us through this pandemic.
And I don't think he just -- he either doesn't have any idea what to do or he just doesn't
care.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Joe Biden campaigned in Northeastern Pennsylvania on Saturday.
JOE BIDEN: Trump ran around saying he represents the forgotten man and woman in his country.
I get it. But then he got elected, and he immediately forgot the forgotten man.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I spoke to voters from the area, which was key in helping then candidate
Trump take the entire state back in 2016.
Northeast Pennsylvania experienced the largest regional flip in the state. President Obama's
roughly 36,000-vote margin in 2012 switched to an 86,000-vote margin for Mr. Trump.
Jim Haigh lives outside Allentown, didn't vote for either Mr. Trump or Hillary Clinton
in the last presidential election. This year, he's voting Biden, based on what he's seen
from the president.
JIM HAIGH, Biden Supporter: Over time, I mean, day after day, month after month, it became
evident to me that there really was no vision, that there really was no moral compass.
If Joe Biden was walking down the sidewalk and found somebody's wallet, he would pick
it up and make sure it got back to that person immediately, where I think Donald Trump would
take that same wallet up, take the cash and credit cards out, and just throw it back on
the sidewalk.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Annie Howell is a staunch Trump supporter who lives in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania,
where Mr. Biden campaigned Saturday.
Howell praised the president's handling of the pandemic and the economy.
ANNIE HOWELL, Trump Supporter: I think that he was very proactive and aggressive in his
approach. I don't see how he could have done things any better at all. And I'm very in
line with him wanting to reopen the economy. People are suffering.
JUDY WOODRUFF: As you know, there's a lot of comment about the president's style, the
strong language he uses in going after his critics, people who he disapproves of, the
tweeting and so forth.
Do you have thoughts about all that? Does that matter to you?
ANNIE HOWELL: I see it as an asset. I'm not opposed to it at all. And I think a lot of
people think what he's thinking, but he actually has the we will call it bravery to express
it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Leah Casner supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, and was shocked
by the Trump victory.
LEAH CASNER, Biden Supporter ; I had hoped our institutions would be strong enough to
withstand even a Donald Trump. But I fear that that has proven not to be the case.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And then along comes the pandemic. And you watched, and what did you see?
LEAH CASNER: Nothing being done that needed to be done, the refusal to listen to the scientists,
the belittling of it. In this area, we have most -- many people don't take it seriously.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Casner also praised Mr. Biden for choosing California Senator Kamala Harris
as his running mate.
LEAH CASNER: I think his selection of Kamala has been very good for my view of him. I really
felt that he was not quite as respectful of women and of people of color as he could have
been. And this has certainly changed my view of that.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Stephen Williams is a Trump supporter from Coopersburg. He says he doesn't
always agree with the president's attacks on Joe Biden or his reluctance to wear a mask.
STEPHEN WILLIAMS, Trump Supporter: I don't like the way the president demeans people.
I can -- it's not very presidential. That's not my style. That bothers me.
But the real reason I'm a Republican is because of abortion. The Democratic Party supports
abortion. I'm totally against it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: So, thinking about the Trump presidency, how have you thought of it? What's
your impression been?
STEPHEN WILLIAMS: I think he's kept a lot of his promises, most of them, actually. I
have been pleased with the economy, with the sovereign borders, with relations with China
and other countries, the trade deals. I have been very pleased with what he's done so far.
JUDY WOODRUFF: With eight days left until the election, early voting has already soared
to record highs. More than 60 million people have cast their ballots. That's more than
the total who voted early or absentee in 2016.