U.S. party conventions sound horn for final sprint in 2020 election

-- The 2020 Democratic and Republican presidential nominees respectively rolled out their visions for the United States, while adding fuel to political rhetoric against each other.

-- Traditionally, party conventions are aimed at building momentum for presidential nominees in the months leading up to the election day.

-- The 2020 U.S. presidential election will take place on Nov. 3.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 Democratic and Republican conventions concluded successively in these two weeks, where presidential nominees respectively rolled out their visions for the United States, while adding fuel to political rhetoric against each other.

The conventions came at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is still raging in the country, with the economy struggling to recover, and calls for racial justice growing stronger. The events have set the stage for the final sprint in the presidential election that is saddled with uncertainties and challenges.

Photo taken on Aug. 10, 2020 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

DIFFERENT VISIONS

During the finale of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Aug. 20, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden accepted the party's presidential nomination in a speech swiping at his Republican rival, sitting President Donald Trump.

From a stadium in Wilmington in the eastern state of Delaware, Biden accused Trump of cloaking "America in darkness for much too long" and causing "too much anger, too much fear, too much division," while presenting himself as a unifying force to restore "the soul of the nation" and "an ally of the light."

The 77-year-old moderate political veteran, who has also enjoyed support from the party's liberal wing, went on to promise to address the pandemic from day one since taking office, rebuild the economy, strengthen the health care system, deal with racial injustice, and tackle climate change.

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States on Aug. 20, 2020 shows screens displaying images of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaking in a video feed of the 2020 Democratic National Convention. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

In his acceptance speech from the White House South Lawn Thursday night, Trump fought back by going after Biden on topics ranging from the economy to foreign policy and sought to draw a contrast between himself and the former vice president, alleging that "there has never been such a difference between two parties, or two individuals, in ideology, philosophy, or vision than there is right now."

Notably, Trump brought to the fore his "law and order" message, as public anger has erupted after 29-year-old African American Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a white police officer during an arrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin a week ago, leading to massive protests and violence at times.

The president, however, didn't address the shooting or racial justice in his speech. Instead, he touted job numbers for African Americans, and doubled down on his support of police.

To make his case for reelection, Trump also touted what he believes were accomplishments of his first term, made promises for the next four years, and tried to reshape the narrative of his administration's handling of the pandemic, which has infected nearly 6 million people and killed more than 182,000 in the United States.

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Aug. 27, 2020 shows screens displaying U.S. President Donald Trump delivering his acceptance speech during the 2020 Republican National Convention. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"Democrats basically argued Trump is incompetent and completely mismanaged COVID and the economy ... Republicans are focused on law and order and say Biden will be an ultra-liberal who will take America in a dangerous direction," said Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

UNCONVENTIONAL CONVENTIONS

Traditionally, party conventions are aimed at building momentum for presidential nominees in the months leading up to the election day, with tens of thousands of delegates, politicians, lobbyists, and reporters gathering for the quadrennial, fanfare-rich assemblies.

This year, the pandemic has largely put in-person campaign activities on hold. While all events of the DNC were held virtually, hundreds of Republicans met in Charlotte, North Carolina to renominate Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for the party's 2020 ticket. Besides, both Trump and Pence addressed a live audience while accepting the renomination.

The Trump campaign said the Republican National Convention (RNC), which ran from Monday to Thursday, brought in more views across television and online than the DNC's, while the party's fundraising arms raked in 76 million U.S. dollars during the period, also higher than the DNC's. But Trump's acceptance speech drew fewer audience members than Biden's, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Trump got a boost from the RNC. A new Morning Consult poll conducted on Friday that asked more than 4,000 likely voters which candidate they would pick found Biden leading Trump by 6 percentage points, 50 percent to 44 percent. But on Aug. 23, Biden led 52 percent to 42 percent.

"In the particular case of the post-RNC polls, I'd say the small Trump bounce in polls so far is about what you might have expected and shouldn't change your view of the race much," Nate Silver, founder and editor-in-chief of FiveThirtyEight, a U.S. website on opinion poll analysis, politics and economics, tweeted on Saturday.

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Biden still leads Trump by 6.9 percentage points nationally and 2.7 points in top battleground states, as of Saturday night, but both numbers have shrunk.

Images of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris speaking in a video feed of the 2020 Democratic National Convention are displayed on screens in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Aug. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

RESTARTING CAMPAIGNS

Immediately after the acceptance speech, Trump returned to the campaign trail on Friday by holding a rally in Londonderry in the northeastern state of New Hampshire. Separately, Pence made campaign stops in Michigan and Minnesota, both critical battleground states, on Friday.

The states appear to be vital to Trump's reelection bid as his campaign has limited options compared to the electoral map from 2016 and has found itself on the defense in a number of states that the former businessman and television celebrity carried in his race against then Democratic presidential nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Campaign officials have identified New Hampshire and Minnesota as flip opportunities after Trump narrowly lost them four years ago. He won Michigan by only 0.3 percentage point at that time but polls have showed him trailing Biden in the "Great Lakes State."

After the pandemic had kept both Trump and Biden away from the campaign trail for months, the Republican first held a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June but the attendance was far less than expected and local health officials blamed a subsequent rise in coronavirus infections in the area on the event. Two attendees of the Charlotte portion of the RNC and two individuals supporting the event have also tested positive for the virus.

Biden said earlier this week that he will begin traveling to battleground states after Labor Day, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.

The final months of the presidential race also come as Trump continues to cast doubt on mail-in voting, repeatedly claiming without providing any evidence that it would lead to massive voter fraud, as states have moved to expand voting by mail amid the pandemic. He had even raised the prospect that he won't accept the results in November.

Photo taken in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, Aug. 24, 2020 shows a computer screen displaying U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaking during the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"I have to see," Trump told Fox News's Chris Wallace last month when asked if he would accept the election results. "No, I'm not just going to say yes, I'm not going to say no, and I didn't last time either."

The Commission on Presidential Debates has scheduled three debates between Trump and Biden and one between Pence and U.S. Senator from California and 2020 Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the next two months.

The 2020 U.S. presidential election will take place on Nov. 3.