Joe Biden is meeting voters for the first time in a long time. In embattled Pennsylvania, he presented himself as confident and empathetic as an alternative to the president.
In a normal U.S. presidential campaign now, less than 50 days before the election, voters would be tired and saturated with all the selfies, all the hot dog eating and all the slogans of the candidates on their tour of the key states of the country. Election day would be longed for so that this marathon of images, messages and abuse is finally over.

But this election campaign is not normal; the corona pandemic has changed everything. Although not necessarily for President Donald Trump, who is touring the country on his “Great American Comeback” tour and organizing events with little regard to distance rules and masking requirements. He’ll be performing in three more states this week alone.

Unlike his Democratic opponent Joe Biden. The 77-year-old had hardly been seen outside of his home in Delaware for a long time. From his basement, Biden tried to find his way into an election campaign that was alien to him. At a distance, online, via zoom and social media. Nothing that would feel natural to Biden. The former vice president likes to portray himself as the average Joe, as one of them is a politician who can sympathize with the average voter. Born in Pennsylvania into a non-elite household, a senator who still travelled by train between Washington D.C. and Delaware has commuted.