Monday marks the final opportunity for President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to deliver their pitches before Election Day — and both candidates are taking full advantage.
Both Trump and Biden have packed schedules on Monday and will host several campaign events — most of them concentrated in Midwestern swing states that could prove vital in their electoral maps.
Trump will hold a whopping five campaign rallies on Monday — a final 12-hour sprint that will cover four states that he likely needs to carry in order to serve a second term.
Trump began the day at 11:45 a.m. ET in Fayetteville, North Carolina — a state he narrowly lost to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is still in play in 2020. The state is also in the midst of a key Senate race that could determine which party controls the body in the next session.
During his speech in North Carolina, Trump decried poll numbers that show him losing in key swing states, calling them "fake." He also attempted to paint Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats as "criminals," citing reports about Biden's son that are based on questionable information.
Trump's Monday blitz will also take him to Pennsylvania — the state many analysts say could be the "tipping point" state of the election. Record numbers of Pennsylvanians have already voted in 2020, but state regulations state that many of those ballots cannot be counted until Tuesday — meaning the state likely won't be called until later in the week.
Finally, Trump will finish the day in two upper Midwest states that he unexpectedly took in 2016 — and where he will need a similar overperformance if he hopes to win them again in 2020: Wisconsin and Michigan.
Trump's rally in Wisconsin will take place in Kenosha — the city that was the sight of unrest early this year following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Biden will spend the majority of his final day of campaigning in Pennsylvania — underscoring the importance the state will have in the outcome of the election. The former Vice President will hold three events in the state on Monday, including a prime-time event in Pittsburgh alongside pop star Lady Gaga.
At an event in Monaca, Pennsylvania — a town just northeast of Pittsburgh — Biden stressed the importance of labor unions in building the middle class, and painted Trump as an aristocrat.
"He only sees things from (the perspective) of Park Avenue," Biden said.
On Sunday, the Trump campaign hit Biden for his planned appearance with Lady Gaga, calling the singer an "anti-fracking activist." Lady Gaga responded to the Trump campaign's release by tweeting at Trump, saying she was living "rent free" in his head.
HEY TIM HEY @realDonaldTrump SO HAPPY IM GLAD TO BE LIVING RENT FREE in your HEAD. #BidenHarris https://t.co/k2ODfQNkF3 pic.twitter.com/Iy3Nj8aYMR
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) November 1, 2020
Fracking is a key industry in Pennsylvania. While Trump has claimed that Biden would ban "all fracking," Biden has said he would only ban the practice on federally-owned land.
Biden will campaign in Cleveland on Monday morning. Ohio continues to lean toward Trump, and it's a state the President cannot afford to lose — a Republican has not won the White House without taking Ohio since 1948.
