Battleground-state spikes keep campaign focused on COVID-19
If Trump is tired of talking about COVID-19, his biggest problem one week from Election Day may be that voters he needs are living it -- still, and especially now.
You wouldn't know it from his rallies. And you wouldn't know it from Monday night's celebration for the swearing-in of just-confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett outside the White House, which featured more masks than her announcement event but no real social distancing at what amounted to be a late-night outdoor party.
The view from the ground: Among the 13 most competitive battleground states, coronavirus positivity rates are going up in 11 of them -- including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Arizona, according to an ABC News analysis of COVID Tracking Project data.
Hospitalization rates are up in nine of the 13 top-targeted states, including the five top-tier battlegrounds just referenced. The number of daily deaths is up in six critical states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ohio and Minnesota.
Trump's three campaign rallies Monday barely included a mention of the pandemic and the president did not reference the recent outbreak among White House staff. The president attacked former Vice President Joe Biden for prescribing "doom and gloom" when he predicted a long road ahead.
The race's dominant issue, though, has remained COVID-19. The inability to control the pandemic is not just a concession from the White House chief of staff -- it's a statement of reality as being lived by voters, including some with an outsized voice in the election.
-ABC News’ Political Director Rick Klein
