The Democratic National Convention begins today where delegates will formally nominate Joe Biden as their candidate for the US Presidential Election.
Former first lady Michelle Obama is addressing the Democrats' now-virtual gathering, as President Donald Trump defies coronavirus concerns to rally supporters in battleground Wisconsin.
Barack Obama's popular wife anchors the primetime slot on the opening night of this year's anything-but-normal convention, that aims to present an alternative future to what Democrats call Mr Trump's politics of division.
The four-day event was to be held in Milwaukee in a sign of eagerness to win back Wisconsin, one of multiple Democratic strongholds which flipped to Mr Trump in 2016.
But the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed at least 170,000 Americans, upended presidential campaigning and the convention will take place almost entirely online - as will the Republican event, which begins on 24 August.
Mr Biden sought to downplay the awkwardness of an American political ritual being held without the usual roaring crowds and falling confetti.
"We may be physically apart, but this week Democrats are coming together from across the nation to put forth our vision for a better America," the Democratic veteran, Mr Obama's vice-president for eight years, tweeted.
Mr Trump, not to be outdone, flew to the Midwest for two speeches today, including one in Oshkosh, Wisconsin about a 90-minute drive north of the Milwaukee arena where Democrats had intended to gather.
"I know all of these people very well, I beat them all last time," Mr Trump told Fox News about the Democrats addressing the convention, including both Obamas, 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton and erstwhile Biden rival Bernie Sanders.
"They can't unite," Mr Trump said.
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Virtual atmosphere
The convention takes place amid a furore over Mr Trump's efforts to limit mail-in voting.
The president, insisting without proof that it fosters fraud, has threatened to block extra funding that Democrats say is urgently needed to allow the US Postal Service to process millions of ballots.
Democratic Party chairman Tom Perez said the convention would push back against Mr Trump's "assault on our democracy" by highlighting efforts to protect voting by mail.
"This president can't win on the merits and so he has to cheat. And it's shameful," Mr Perez told a Washington Post webcast.
The experimental convention format meanwhile will allow speakers to address American voters unfiltered - largely shorn of the usual overwrought stagecraft and screaming delegates.
Mr Trump accused Democrats of preparing "taped" speeches for all major keynotes, well aware that pre-recorded presentations would knock Democrats' play for authenticity.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will address the convention live via videolink, while other speeches will be "a mix of live and curated content," the campaign confirmed.
But the New York Times reported that Michelle Obama's speech has been pre-recorded, in part to avoid any embarrassing technical glitches on the opening night of an unprecedented convention.
Mr Biden enters the week with significant but tightening poll leads over Mr Trump, and hoping his pick of Ms Harris - the first woman of colour on a major party's presidential ticket - will invigorate Democrats.
The senator, former prosecutor and daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants is 55 and brings relatively youthful energy to bolster the 77-year-old Biden.
Biden's moment
The former first lady will be joined at the top of the bill by Bernie Sanders, a leader of the party's progressive wing.
At the 2016 convention she memorably told Democrats: "Our motto is, when they go low, we go high."
Four years later, amid a steadily coarsening political culture led by Mr Trump's take-no-prisoners style, Ms Obama's speech will be carefully watched.
Tomorrow will see addresses from former president Bill Clinton and Jill Biden, the nominee's wife.
On Wednesday Barack Obama will speak, and Kamala Harris will have her spotlight moment before the convention culminates Thursday when Mr Biden formally accepts the Democratic nomination and delivers his acceptance speech via videolink.
Mr Trump's efforts to steal the show include delivering a speech near Scranton, Pennsylvania - the blue-collar town where Mr Biden grew up - to coincide with the biggest moment in Mr Biden's political life.
First he jets into Wisconsin ahead of the Democratic spectacle and will likely skewer his 2016 rival Ms Clinton's absence in the swing state then, and Biden's no-show now.
Jill Gillmore, a 37-year-old Trump supporter from Kenosha, Wisconsin, recalled as much as she entered Mr Trump's rally.
Democrats "passed over Wisconsin in 2016 and they're doing it again today", she said.
