Trump emphasizes differences with Biden

US President Donald Trump, in his acceptance speech Thursday to run for a second term, was looking to contrast himself starkly with his opponent, Joe Biden.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump is "really going to draw a contrast between him and the Democrat Party and he's going to frame this election as a choice: Which America do you want to be a part of?

"One where there's law and order in the streets or anarchy?" she said earlier Thursday on Fox Business before the last evening of the 2020 Republican National Convention. "One where there's a great economic comeback, an American recovery, or one where you have onerous regulation and overtaxation and a struggling economy?"

"We have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years," Trump was expected to say to an audience of about 1,000 outside the White House. Excerpts from the live speech were provided to media.

"At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies or two agendas," the Republican president said. "At the Democrat convention, you barely heard a word about their agenda. But that's not because they don't have one. It's because their agenda is the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee."

2020 has been a turbulent year in the US, as the nation has suffered major casualties and economic losses — nearly 180,000 dead from COVID-19 and millions out of work following government restrictions on commerce in efforts to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has been devastating since March.

Also adding to the problems has been racial discord that intensified with the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Floyd's death has generated months of protests and violent disruptions in several American cities.

The tense situation was rekindled on Sunday when another black man, Jacob Blake, was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Reaction to his shooting resulted in nightly protests that on Tuesday saw two people fatally shot. An Illinois teenager has been charged with murder in those shootings. The Midwestern city also saw numerous businesses burned amid the strife.

Biden, perhaps sensing the issue of urban unrest will be a major one in the Nov 3 election, spoke out against the violence after Vice-President Mike Pence unleased withering criticism in a convention speech on Wednesday, exclaiming "you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America".

Biden on Thursday accused Trump of "rooting" for violence.

"He views this as a political benefit to him. You know, he's rooting for more violence, not less. And he's clear about that. And what's he doing, he's pouring more gasoline on the fire," Biden said on MSNBC.

"The violence we're witnessing is happening under Donald Trump. Not me," the 77-year-old former vice-president said. "So when Donald Trump says tonight you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America, look around and ask yourself: How safe do you feel in Donald Trump's America?

"If you want to talk about safety, the biggest safety issue is people dying from COVID," Biden said. "More people have died on this president's watch than at just about any time in American history, on a daily basis."

US Senator Kamala Harris, 55, of California, in her first major speech against Trump since she became Biden's running mate, said: "We must always defend peaceful protests and peaceful protesters. We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence, including the shooter who was arrested for murder. And make no mistake, we will not let these vigilantes and extremists derail the path to justice."

Trump, 74, told reporters after receiving a briefing at Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters on Thursday afternoon that he had considered postponing his acceptance speech until next week because of Hurricane Laura, which has crashed into Louisiana and Texas.

"But now it turned out, we got a little bit lucky. It was very big, it was very powerful, but it passed quickly," said Trump, who added he'd likely visit areas impacted by the storm over the weekend.

Political experts interviewed by China Daily see a narrowing election.

Douglas H. Paal, distinguished fellow at the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the two political conventions did not change his outlook on the election, because neither party has really tried to expand its base.

"I expect the polls to tighten and events on the streets of America to play a larger role, not China," said Paal, referring to the "China-bashing" tactics that both campaigns have employed.

Paal said Biden's camp seems to be grappling with its lead in the national polls. That's where Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was in 2016, and Michael Dukakis in 1988.

He said Biden is "very much hostage to events", because normal campaigning is not possible. "He cannot sit safely on his lead," Paal said.

"This suggests we will have another close election and will have to rely on our imperfect institutional arrangements for voting and the Electoral College, magnified by the effects of the virus on voters," he added.

Cal Jillson, a political scientist and historian at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said conventions don't usually change the trajectory of a presidential election.

"Trailing Biden by seven or eight points, sometimes more, President Trump's best shot at reelection is to disqualify Biden in the eyes of the electorate, but it will not be easy," Jillson said.

In recent election cycles, the bounces have been smaller because the US electorate is polarized, said Jillson.

Stanley Renshon, a political scientist at City University of New York, said data on any Trump bounce won't show up for a day or two, but the first three days of the convention gave pro-Trump supporters what they wanted and needed.

"The riots in Wisconsin and elsewhere are a great political gift to Trump's reelection, and I expect him to make substantial use of them," Renshon said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.