15 photos of the moments that defined the 2020 US presidential campaign
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- The US presidential election is two days away.
- It follows months of campaigning by Democratic nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump in the midst of two defining national moments, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.
- Scroll down to see the 15 images of the 2020 presidential election campaign.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The 2020 US presidential election has been unique.
The last few months have been shaped by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement's rise. Both have been central to this year's campaign between Republican President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party nominee, Joe Biden.
From the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis, here are 15 moments that defined the 2020 presidential campaign.
Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters
Several days later, Biden sealed his comeback with more critical wins at Super Tuesday.
At that point, Biden had narrowly overtaken his main challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders.
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2. After weeks of downplaying the coronavirus threat, Trump declared a national emergency on March 13. At this point, COVID-19 cases were rising rapidly in the country and around the world.ABC News
Since the coronavirus outbreak, more than 9 million Americans contracted the virus, and more than 229,000 have died from it, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University.
The pandemic has reshaped life as we know it. Schools, businesses, and restaurants have been shut down as millions of people continue to stay and work at home.
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3. Biden's main challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders, dropped out of the presidential race on April 8. His exit made Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee.Alex Wong/Getty Images
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4. President Trump shocked health care experts on April 24 after he suggested that injecting bleach into the body could eliminate the virus during one of his daily COVID-19 briefings.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
"I see the disinfectant where it knocks it out in a minute," Trump said during the briefing.
"One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?" he added. "So it'd be interesting to check that."
Leading manufacturers of cleaning products had to issue statements in response to the president's comments, warning their customers not to attempt to inject themselves with disinfectants.
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5. The killing of George Floyd at the hands of police on May 25 caused protests to erupt across the country and the world. The Black Lives Matter movement has become a dominant issue of the 2020 election.John Lamparski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
By the end of May, more than 450 major protests had been held in cities and towns across the United States and three other continents, according to a map by NBC News.
The demonstrations have been ongoing, but have already sparked some significant change: councilors have vowed to reform police departments, statues have toppled, and corporations have promised greater diversity and inclusivity.
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6. President Trump caused outrage on June 1 after federal police fired tear gas at peaceful BLM protesters outside the White House to clear a path for him to pose for a picture with a bible in front of a church.The basement of the church, close to the White House, had been set on fire the day before by some protesters.
"We have a great country. That's my thoughts. Greatest country in the world," Trump said while posing for the picture.
The Episcopal bishop of Washington, DC, said she was "outraged" that neither she nor the rector of St. John's Church were notified of Trump's photo-op, according to The Washington Post.
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7. The former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain died from COVID-19 on July 30. Although it is unclear where exactly he contracted the virus from, Cain was pictured sitting at a packed Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma just 11 days before he tested positive.—The Cain Gang (@THEHermanCain) June 20, 2020
In the picture, nobody around Cain was wearing face masks.
The day before he was hospitalized, Cain expressed support for the Trump campaign's decision not to require masks at an Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore.
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8. After months of speculation, Biden made history by naming Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice-presidential running mate on August 11. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to be nominated by either major party.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Harris previously served as San Francisco district attorney and later as California attorney general.
She was also a front-runner in the 2020 Democratic presidential-primary race but dropped out in December 2019.
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9. During civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 17-year-old Trump supporter called Kyle Rittenhouse shot and killed two people. President Trump later suggested Rittenhouse was acting in self-defense.Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Speaking at a White House press briefing when asked about Rittenhouse, Trump said: "You saw the same tape as I saw, and he was trying to get away from them."
Democratic nominee Joe Biden issued a statement immediately condemning Trump's comments, writing: "Tonight, the president declined to rebuke violence. He wouldn't even repudiate one of his supporters who is charged with murder because of his attacks on others. He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it."
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10. The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18 gave President Trump a third opportunity to nominate a lifetime appointee to the nation's highest court.Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool
Ginsburg died of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer at the age of 87.
One of her final wishes that she made in the days before her death was that she not be replaced until a new president takes office.
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11. The first presidential debate on September 30 was largely characterized by yelling, interrupting, and conspiracy theories — most of which came from Trump.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
Trump prompted outrage for telling the far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys, to "stand by" amid nationwide protests against racism.
Debate moderator Chris Wallace struggled to maintain control over the debate, pleading with Trump on multiple occasions to stop interrupting him.
Twenty minutes into the debate, Biden got fed up with Trump for cutting him off repeatedly, asking: "Will you shut up, man?"
Business Insider's John Haltiwanger described the debate as being a "political horror show."
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12. Trump announced on October 2 that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the novel coronavirus, sending shockwaves across the world.Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A few hours after the news broke of Trump's diagnosis, the president was pictured walking across the White House lawn to a helicopter which took him to Walter Reed Medical Center.
The White House said in a statement that the decision came "out of an abundance of caution."
Trump has repeatedly tried to downplay the severity of the pandemic.
For several months, the president has refused to wear a mask in public and also questioned their effectiveness.
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13. Three days after being hospitalized, the president left Walter Reed hospital via a presidential motorcade in a move that was considered "irresponsible" by health experts. Trump was pictured sitting behind a Secret Service agent in the back of a car wearing a mask as he waved to his supporters.Cheriss May/Getty Images
On Twitter, Trump described the ride as a "little surprise visit to some of the patriots we have out on the street."
Dr. James P. Phillips, who is also an attending physician at Walter Reed, later tweeted: "Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential 'drive-by' just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity."
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14. A day before Trump's dramatic return to the White House, the president prompted outrage by tweeting: "Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life."Win McNamee/Getty Images
"Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!" Trump tweeted on October 5.
His comments also angered experts who said it undermined public health messages.
"I am struggling for words — this is crazy," Harald Schmidt, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania told the New York Times. "It is just utterly irresponsible."
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15. Eight days before the election, the Senate confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court despite opposition from the Democrats. Barrett is a conservative Catholic whose appointment will shift the balance of the court significantly to the right.Alex Wong/Getty Images
During her confirmation hearings, Barett was evasive when asked about key issues, including climate change, healthcare, same-sex marriage, and Roe v. Wade
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