Trump and Biden hit the trail in a charged election week

Trump trails in polls

If there was any doubt about the 74-year-old president's own recovery from the virus, his packed campaigning schedule appears to belie it, and his message has, if anything, grown more pointed.

With the president trailing in polls, some analysts say he should focus on America's economic prospects, which Trump considers his strong point.

Nearly 220,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, the world's worst total, and the outbreak is now spreading in many states at rates unseen in months.

Polls show that most voters disapprove of his erratic handling of the pandemic, and Biden has made it a core theme, promising a more sober leadership.

Ahead of Trump's Nevada events, Biden said the president "needs to answer for his failed response to COVID-19".

He continued: "Donald Trump didn't take necessary precautions to protect himself and others. How can we trust him to protect Nevada families?"

Trump has dismissed his weak polling data, while Biden's supporters are also wary about over-confidence in an election that could tilt on a close race in a single state such as Florida.

 'It's got to stop' 

Democrats assailed Trump on Sunday not just for his attacks on Biden but on Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the recent target of a kidnapping plot by a heavily armed right-wing militia group.

Meanwhile Democrat Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, has been negotiating with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over a stimulus relief bill to alleviate the economic strains imposed by the pandemic.

She said Sunday on ABC that she remained optimistic of a deal, though many lawmakers say the two sides remain far apart.

More than 25 million Americans have already cast ballots in unprecedented early voting.

AFP