US election result in balance on final day of campaign

well in the u.s uh president trump and his democratic party challenger joe biden are visiting the key states to try to target undecided voters ahead of tomorrow’s presidential election 97 million people have already taken part in early voting that’s more than two-thirds of the votes registered in the entire campaign four years ago in a moment our north america editor john sopple will have the latest on president trump’s campaign but first nick bryant reports from pennsylvania the scene of joe biden’s latest campaign rally the biden campaign has tried to make the road to the white house a safer

journey as possible holding drive-in rallies where mask wearing is compulsory whether or not you observe the covered protocols has become a marker of your politics where this guy trump has destroyed everything he’s a vile nasty human being he can’t be the president i want someone who my daughter can look up to we need a return to normalcy we need decency in the white house and we need somebody knows how to get things done this has been such a surreal presidential election one in which the method of campaigning has actually become a campaign issue in itself hello philadelphia joe

biden has tried to turn this into the coronavirus election a referendum on donald trump’s handling of a viral onslaught that’s killed more than 230 000 americans to beat the virus we first got to beat donald trump he’s the virus but it’s not just the health of america he’s seeking to rehabilitate he says he’s trying to save its soul we choose hope over fear we choose unity over division we shoot science over fiction and yes we choose choose truth over lies biden events are

nowhere near as crowded as the rallies for donald trump but that’s precisely the point joe biden is the candidate of a very different america [Music] he’s been more high energy in these final days of campaigning but for much of 2020 the former vice president has almost been an invisible candidate thank you thank you thank you thank you many americans are yearning for a presidency they could have on in the background but has this 77 year old arouse the necessary passion that’s often needed to win nick brown bbc news pennsylvania [Music] today began in miami it was elevenses in north carolina tomorrow we are going to win this state and we are going to win four more years in our great white house then

north and lunchtime in scranton pennsylvania [Music] a state that will be critical in this election from here he’ll go on to michigan wisconsin back to michigan and finally washington two and a half thousand miles traveled in one day alone i don’t know how many people here but there’s a lot of people here and it’s windy as hell and it’s cold and i couldn’t care look at that flag look at that flag bro so beautiful if this election was solely about energy and the size of your audience and

the creation of a new breed of dog the labra donald the president would have it wrapped up his supporters think it is is he gonna win you’re bad yeah yes four more years yes four more years it’s gonna happen man it’s just too many people out all over the united states it’s crazy and i’m from new york dude i drove three hours in the cold there is cold-eyed calculation from the trump campaign in holding these rallies yes it might lead to an uptick in coronavirus cases there’s no social distancing few people are wearing masks but if it encourages thousands more to go out to vote supporters and their

friends then it’s worth it this is donald trump’s bet this is his gamble and last night the president seemed to imply he was ready to fire dr anthony fauci america’s trusted and respected infectious disease expert covet covert covert covert cover would like to talk about covert and then next time here’s what happens november 4th you won’t hear too much about it the audience cried [Applause] and the president responded don’t tell anybody but let me wait till a little bit after the

election trying to ignore the deepening pandemic donald trump has strutted his stuff with verve and determination these past few jaw-dropping weeks his supporters just hope this isn’t the last dance nearly a hundred million americans have already voted that’s nearly three-quarters of the total who voted four years ago now that’s thought to work to joe biden’s advantage but donald trump is hoping tomorrow there will be a huge surge of his supporters going to the polls here in

pennsylvania it’s going to be several days before we get the result and that is going to lead to tensions and unease in this country already bitterly divided and a lot of office workers are being told to stay at home for the next two days for fear of civil unrest celebration of democracy the voting may be but there’s a lot of concern in america too hugh john we’ll talk again tomorrow thank you very much john super there for us our north america editor in pennsylvania