WASHINGTON _ Joe Biden's campaign has decided their candidate should resume traveling around the country.
But entering the two-month homestretch of the 2020 presidential race, the Democratic nominee's top aides are still debating how often he should be visiting key battleground states, what types of events he can hold safely, and whether there's a tangible political benefit to placing him around voters _ or if doing so might look irresponsible amid an ongoing pandemic.
After both parties were forced to hold their conventions largely remotely due to the coronavirus, Donald Trump's campaign has vowed to go on offense in the coming weeks, planning to deploy the president more regularly to modified rallies from airport hangars and smaller events.
Biden's quick stop in Pittsburgh on Monday _ his first public appearance outside of his home state of Delaware since late July _ to deliver a rebuttal to Trump's attacks demonstrated a similar nod toward a new, more aggressive phase of the campaign with early voting beginning in several states this month. But because Biden has placed the president's response to the COVID-19 crisis at the center of his argument, advisers are proceeding with caution and carefully considering drawbacks.
"It's just a very fine line. ... Do you start to do roundtables? Do you ever do a dispersed packed event? That's difficult," said one top Biden adviser, who was granted anonymity to discuss campaign strategy. "It could be seen as a risk. Perception is a lot of this. The debate going on internally is trying to weigh the cost-benefit of what getting out there gets us. Does it help us to positively drive a message or does it distract?"
Biden's 23-minute speech inside a refurbished Pittsburgh steel mill was well-received by political pundits, but it was delivered without an audience. When the former vice president made an unannounced stop at a firehouse to deliver pizzas afterwards, the constraints on traditional retail politics were visible: He apologized to a supporter in a wheelchair for not being able to shake her hand.
Still, in many Democrats' eyes, the trip was a success on two fronts. It drove a national storyline about Biden pinning the current spate of violence and property damage in cities across the country on Trump, while also catering to one of the most politically important media markets in the country.
"What you want is the local media coverage," said Bill Hyers, a Democratic strategist who directed President Barack Obama's re-election campaign in Pennsylvania. "The crowd you usually see is great, but it's more about the local media hit you get when you're there. Being present always helps."
During a virtual fundraiser last week, Biden suggested he was also considering traveling to places like Arizona, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
But the campaign is confronting local crosscurrents in some states. The Democratic mayor of Kenosha, Wis. _ which is still reeling from the Aug. 23 police shooting of Jacob Blake _ asked both Biden and Trump to wait at least another week before traveling there.
Trump called the mayor "a fool," and defied his request by staging an official White House visit on Tuesday. He held a roundtable with local officials and toured some of the property damage in the city, where he emphasized his ability to deploy the National Guard to stop looting and violence.
"We'll help you rebuild. It's a great area. It's a great state. This should never happen. A thing like this should never happen. They have to call early," Trump said outside the remains of a burned furniture store.
But the Biden campaign is more likely to heed local guidance and check with stakeholders before confirming any plans. For instance, in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has been highly critical of his Republican challenger for holding in-person campaign events. Biden showing up could create a messaging conflict and invite charges of hypocrisy.
"If he wants to do it and limit the crowd size with social distancing and the crowd has masks, it's doable, especially since some restrictions are being lifted," said John Verdejo, a Democratic National Committeeman from North Carolina. "It's not a 20,000 people gathering that we're used to. As long as it keeps in line with what state health departments ask, I think that's fine."
Aside from visits to nearby Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. for John Lewis' memorial and a debate with Bernie Sanders, Biden hasn't logged a visit outside of Delaware since March when the primary was still underway. Trump, meanwhile, has attempted to return to the campaign trail with fits and starts, most notably in June when he drew a sparse crowd inside a Tulsa, Okla. arena.
Continuing to hold consistent leads in national and battleground state polling, some of Biden's lieutenants are averse to dramatically changing strategies.
"It may be a week-to-week thing," the Biden aide conceded about travel. "What we've been doing has been working."
There are less visible, but still significant, allies who argue that the 77-year-old Biden traveling simply raises unnecessary risks.
"If it was me driving, I don't know if I'd take him out of his house. Why?" asked a Democratic donor supportive of Biden. "It's an untested theory that we're going to improve things being out there. I don't like him being around crowds. There's too much at risk. It's just not demonstrated that we couldn't close this campaign Nov. 3 operating at a completely reduced schedule."
While Biden and Kamala Harris' schedules for the coming weeks are still being formulated, Jill Biden began a multi-week "Back to School" tour this week that may serve as a sort of test case for travel. The campaign said her itinerary will combine virtual and in person events in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada and Arizona, though it hasn't designated which would feature her in person.
Larry Ceisler, a longtime public relations consultant in Philadelphia, said Biden can stagger safe visits to swing states without risking undercutting his message against Trump. But he said one state should be mandatory on Biden's list: Wisconsin. The campaign hasn't yet settled on if and when Biden will visit the preeminent battleground state of the cycle.
"I think you have to go up there because Hillary Clinton didn't go there four years ago," Ceisler said. I think you have to go up there because of the optics that shows, I know it counts."
On Wednesday, Trump will visit Wilmington, N.C., for an official White House event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. On Thursday, he's scheduled to return to the campaign trail in Latrobe, Pa., to speak to a crowd in a county he carried by 31 points in 2016.
Biden's next scheduled public event is on Wednesday, from a school in his hometown of Wilmington, Del., where participants will be limited to a handful of education experts and a few members of the media.
