With the US Elections in full swing, images from rallies of US President Donald Trump and Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden are being shared to compare the ‘support’ for each candidate, in an attempt to discredit those predicting Biden’s win.
However, a comparison of the crowds at the rallies of respective candidates is misleading as Democratic and Republican campaigns have employed opposite campaigning strategies due to the ongoing pandemic. While Trump continues to hold in-person rallies drawing out huge crowds, Biden has stuck to socially-distanced drive-in rallies.
CLAIM
The picture was shared with the caption, “It's hard to trust pollsters when your own eyes see this day after day...”
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
While both the images are authentic, a comparison between the two lacks the context of the candidates’ campaigning strategies.
Trump had shared the first image on his Instagram account from his rally in Des Moines, Iowa on 15 October.
A picture of Biden’s tour bus was shared by Arizona House Democratic Leader Charlene Fernandez on 9 October.
However, it is important to note that local media reported that the tour bus aimed at giving out campaign signs, stickers and other paraphernalia to ensure Democratic signage across the Arizona state. Biden and Vice President candidate Kamala Harris were not present at the rally.
As opposed to this, Trump’s rally in Iowa invited a ‘huge’ crowd without any social-distancing or precautionary measures for COVID-19.
The New York Times has also reported on the opposite campaign strategies. Trump has repeatedly stressed on the strength of numbers for his rallies, while Biden has slammed him for putting ‘thousands at risk.’
“I’ve been responsible. We have not been doing these super-spreading events,” Biden stated.
A recent study from researchers at Stanford University has also found that about 18 election rallies by US President Donald Trump are estimated to have led to more than 30,000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and more than 700 deaths.
BBC also reported that “citing the pandemic, Mr Biden has limited his public appearances, conducting interviews from a makeshift TV studio in his basement, leading the Trump campaign to dub him ‘Hidin' Biden.’”
Evidently, a comparison of crowds at Trump’s and Biden’s rallies is unfair and misleading.
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