Final Debate Offers Trump a Late Chance To Reshape Presidential Race

President 👤Donald Trump gets a final chance to make his case for re-election before a vast audience of Americans when he squares off against Democratic rival 👤Joe Biden on Thursday in their last debate before the Nov. 3 vote.

The televised meeting comes as Trump badly needs to alter the trajectory of the race. He trails Biden significantly in national polls less than two weeks before Election Day, though the contest is much tighter in some key battleground states.

Opinion polls show there are relatively few undecided voters. A record 42 million Americans have already cast ballots ahead of the debate in Nashville, Tennessee, meaning Trump’s window to influence the outcome of the race may be closing.

The contentious first debate between Biden and Trump was watched by at least 73 million viewers. Trump passed up a second debate after it was switched to a virtual format in the wake of his COVID-19 diagnosis.

The illness kept Trump, a Republican, off the campaign trail for more than a week, and he has been furiously been trying to make up ground since, sometimes holding two rallies a day.

His travel schedule has been heavily focused on states, including Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, where polls show the race is the closest and where winning could allow him to squeeze out a tight victory in the U.S. Electoral College.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Biden up by nine points nationally, down from 12 points during the first week of October. He retained a sizeable edge in the competitive states of Michigan and Wisconsin.

To make up ground in the debate, Trump likely will have to modify his behavior from the first face-off, in which he repeatedly interrupted Biden, attacked him personally and showed little respect for the moderator. Swing voters, particularly women, were turned off by his actions, post-debate polls and focus groups showed.