Election 2020: Both Trump and Biden campaign in battleground Pennsylvania

An effort to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin remains on hold Monday night after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to green light a six-day extension ordered by a lower court judge because of the pandemic.  

It's a win for Republicans who have pushed back against efforts to expand voting access nationwide during the outbreak, with special focus on contesting voting changes in battleground states. 

The move by the court, in a 5-3 vote, keeps in place a federal appellate court injunction against a District Court order that first authorized the extension in Wisconsin. 

By law in that state, absentee ballots must be delivered to election clerks by 8 p.m. on Election Day if they are to be counted. 

Chief Justice John Roberts joined with the conservative justices in keeping the status quo in Wisconsin -- explaining his position in contrast to last week's move when he sided with the liberals effectively keeping Pennsylvania's mail ballot deadline extension in place. 

"In this case, as in several this Court has recently addressed, a District Court intervened in the thick of election season to enjoin enforcement of a State’s laws. Because I believe this intervention was improper, I agree with the decision of the Seventh Circuit to stay the injunction pending appeal," he wrote. "While the Pennsylvania applications implicated the authority of state courts to apply their own constitutions to election regulations, this case involves federal intrusion on state lawmaking processes. Different bodies of law and different precedents govern these two situations and require, in these particular circumstances, that we allow the modification of election rules in Pennsylvania but not Wisconsin."

-ABC News Senior Washington reporter Devin Dwyer

At his final rally in Pennsylvania for the day, Trump, appearing to have seen Biden’s earlier remarks outside a voter activation office in the state, countered Biden’s criticism of his rallies as "superspreader events."

"He said that he doesn't do these kinds of rallies because of COVID, you know, because of -- no, he doesn't do them because nobody shows up," Trump said to roaring applause. 

When the crowd later chanted, "We love you," Trump jokingly said he was so touched he could cry. 

"That is the chant they say they have never, ever heard in politics. I will not repeat the chant because I do not want to cry. I will start crying. Now they will say President Trump broke down in tears today," he said, smiling, after mockingly wiping his eyes. 

Back in September, the president said the same thing to another crowd of supporters in Michigan.

Trump shifted between reading a speech off a teleprompter and improvised remarks, and then ended with his now trademark mechanical dance moves to "Y.M.C.A" -- the 1970s hit song he uses to close his rallies.

Wearing a mask as he took the stage on an airport tarmac in Hibbing, Minnesota, Pence returned to the campaign trail Monday despite his chief of staff and four others in his close orbit testing positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. 

"Thank you so much for coming out on this blustery day. And looking out at this crowd, it’s pretty obvious to me the Iron Range is Trump country," Pence said on an afternoon where it was 25 degrees and lightly snowing.

He made no mention of the coronavirus outbreak among his inner circle. Pence’s office said he tested negative this morning for COVID-19.

In his remarks, Pence nodded to the imminent confirmation vote of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, but unlike at his rally in Florida Saturday, he did not indicate he will be in the Senate chamber this evening but on standby in case his vote is needed. 

"When we're done, I'm gonna head back to Washington D.C., just in case they need my vote. But even if they don't, I'll make a prediction: before the day is over, Judge Amy Coney Barrett is going to be Justice Amy Coney Barrett," Pence said to applause. 

There was a strong focus on the Iron Range during Pence’s remarks, telling families across the area that "our bridges and skyscrapers soar because of iron that comes out of the Iron Range."

In 2016, Trump lost Minnesota by only 2 points and has been making a push to try to flip the state this year. Pence acknowledged how tight that race was and asked supporters to keep making a final push in these final days.

"I’ll always believe the greatest form of media in this country is not your TV networks, it's not your big newspapers, it's not even your social media. I think it’s word of mouth. I think you know we came so close in Minnesota, right? Last time around because people were talking to each other. I mean we made history in this country in 2016," Pence said. "And you got to go do it again, you got to deliver this time again."

Pence put his mask back on when he wrapped his remarks and ran back to his plane for Washington.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

After the Biden campaign had announced no public events for the day, he visited with supporters at a voter field office and activation center in Chester, Pennsylvania, in Delaware County, while Trump also rallied in the battleground state, and delivered impromptu remarks attacking the president's response to the pandemic. 

"What in the hell is the matter with this man?" Biden said, arguing the Trump administration is "giving up" on its response as Trump insists cases are "leveling out" when they’re actually on the rise. 

"I'm not going to give up. I don't know what we'll inherit on January 21st, but at the rate he's going it's not going to be good," Biden continued.

Asked about the outdoor event the White House is planning tonight to celebrate the anticipated Senate confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Biden said it sets a bad example to all Americans when the president holds "superspreader events."

"I just hope he is willing to have learned a lesson and there will be significant social distancing. I don't blame him for celebrating. There's a lot of things we could be doing having massive crowds, but the fact is that it's just not appropriate now," Biden said. "It shouldn't be a huge crowd, whether it's outside or not."

Defending himself against criticism from Trump that he’s in "hiding" in the final days of campaigning, Biden noted he’ll be visiting Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida and Georgia this week but also took the chance to differentiate his campaign events from Trump’s. 

“We're going to be traveling -- continue to travel, but the big difference between us -- and the reason why it looks like we're not traveling, we're not putting on superspreaders,” Biden said. “We are doing what we're doing here. Everybody's wearing a mask and trying as best we can to be socially distanced and that’s what we do."