US election: Donald Trump eyes 11th-hour comeback

The President is on a blitz through America’s west to catch Joe Biden before the November 3 election .

US President Donald Trump dances at the end of a rally in Carson City, Nevada. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump is on a blitz through America’s west as part of a final two week push to catch Joe Biden as the Trump campaign nuts out a fresh path to try to secure a come-from-behind victory.

The president’s closest adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has been leading urgent meetings with Trump campaign chiefs to work out a game plan to trigger a similar eleventh hour comeback to that which led to Mr Trump’s unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016.

For example, Senior Trump adviser Jason Miller has flagged a less confrontational approach by the president to his second debate with Mr Biden on Friday (AEDT) after Mr Trump’s overly aggressive approach in the first debate hurt him in the polls.

“When you talk about style and you talk about approach, I do think that President Trump is going to give Joe Biden a little bit more room to explain himself on some of these issues,” Mr Miller said.

He said Mr Trump wanted to press the former vice president on issues such as court-packing, the Biden family’s business interests and Mr Biden’s record on foreign policy.

“I do think the president’s going to want to hear Joe Biden’s answer on some of these, and we’ll definitely give him all the time that Joe Biden wants to talk about packing the court,” Mr Miller said.

Mr Trump is currently campaigning in Nevada and Arizona amid a growing belief among his advisers that a come-from-behind victory will require victories in both Nevada and Arizona to help offset possible losses in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Mr Trump is trailing Mr Biden in Nevada by 5.2 points and Arizona by 3.9 points but the Trump campaign believes both states are winnable.

The president is now holding several rallies a day on most days, including a rally in Carson, Nevada on Monday (AEDT) and two rallies in Arizona on Tuesday (AEDT).

In recent days Mr Trump has sharpened his personal attacks on his Democrat opponent, calling Mr Biden a ‘corrupt politician’ whose family ran ‘a criminal enterprise.’

“The Bidens make crooked Hillary Clinton look like an absolute amateur,’ Mr Trump told the Carson rally.

Meanwhile Mr Biden was campaigning in North Carolina, a state which Mr Trump won in 2016 and where Mr Biden leads by 2.7 points.

In North Carolina around 20 per cent of registered voters have already voted, an early voting trend that is being replicated around the nation.

Mr Biden on Monday (AEDT) called on more people to go to the ballots early amid signs that those early voters are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans.

“We gotta keep the incredible momentum going; we can’t let up,” Mr Biden said at a “drive-in rally” in Durham. “Don’t wait – go vote today.”

Mr Biden attacked Mr Trump’s claim that the country was ‘turning the corner’ in its fight against the coronavirus, at a time when infections have reached the highest level since July.

“As my grandfather would say, ‘This guy’s gone around the bend if he thinks we’ve turned the corner’,” Mr Biden said. “Things are getting worse, and he continues to lie to us about circumstances.”

The President also came under attack from the Democrat Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, after Mr Trump criticised her during a rally in Michigan leading to chants of “lock her up”.

Police had recently foiled a plot by a far-right group to kidnap the Governor.

“It’s incredibly disturbing that the president of the United States, 10 days after a plot to kidnap, put me on trial and execute me — 10 days after that was uncovered — the president is at it again and inspiring and incentivising and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism,” she said.

“It is wrong. It’s got to end. It is dangerous, not just for me and my family, but for public servants everywhere who are doing their jobs and trying to protect their fellow Americans.”

With just two weeks left until the November 3 poll, Mr Biden currently leads Mr Trump nationally by 8.9 points.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia