Contrasting images match competing themes in final election stretch
This time next week -- give or take a few days, perhaps -- the images of the closing days of this election will be held out as evidence that of course things would turn out the way they did.
Thursday will bring both Trump and Biden to Tampa, Florida, for rallies just five days before Election Day.
Trump will draw an enormous crowd. He will almost certainly mock Biden for not doing the same -- hoping his ability to draw a crowd inspires enthusiasm among his supporters.
Biden will hold a "drive-in rally" where honks will be more prevalent than chants. He will almost certainly attack Trump for holding a massive public gathering in the midst of the pandemic -- hoping his choices match better with how voters are living their lives.
On one level, Trump and Biden have adapted their campaigns to the extraordinary circumstances of the moment. Considered another way, they are using images to say something more about themselves as leaders -- in how they view the severity of the crisis, and how a leader should act.
The numbers -- polling, early vote and even COVID-19 spikes -- point toward a favorable environment for Biden and his view of the race. Trump's political career, though, has been built on a sense that he knows better than any numbers might suggest. If nothing else, as the campaign ends, he will act like he has from the start.
-ABC News’ Political Director Rick Klein
