Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden on Thursday said he plans to start getting out on the traditional campaign trail for in-person events in battleground states after Labor Day.
“One of the things we’re thinking about is I’m going to be going up into Wisconsin, and Minnesota, spending time in Pennsylvania, out in Arizona,” Mr. Biden said at a virtual fundraiser hosted by Larry R. Rogers, Jr., the president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association.
He said they will be “responsible, unlike what this guy’s doing,” apparently referring to President Trump.
Mr. Trump is delivering his Republican National Convention address from the White House before an estimated crowd of 1,000 to 1,500 people on Thursday.
“So what we’re working on is how I get out,” Mr. Biden said. “I’m going to be traveling throughout the country where I can do it consistent with the state rules about how many people can be assembled.”
Mr. Biden has generally eschewed traditional retail campaigning since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, opting instead for virtual events and fundraisers with some smaller in-person events mixed in.
He described himself Thursday as a “tactile politician.”
“I really miss being able to, you know, grab hands, shake hands, you can’t do that now. But I can in fact appear beyond virtually, in person, in many of these places,” he said.
Mr. Biden said he plans to hold smaller events in communities or at local businesses, not “irresponsible rallies.”
Mr. Biden delivered his Democratic National Convention address last week before a mostly empty room in Wilmington, Delaware, as did Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala D. Harris.
Mr. Trump’s team and other Republicans have said Mr. Biden, 77, doesn’t have it in him to emerge from his Delaware home and endure the rigors of a traditional campaign.
