Joe Biden is currently leading the national polls. (File)
Wilmington:
U.S. Democrat Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he would not hold rallies for the presidential campaign during the coronavirus pandemic, an extraordinary statement that contrasts sharply with Donald Trump, who has already organized large electoral rallies.
“This is the most unusual campaign I think in modern history,” said the former vice president during a question and answer session with Delaware journalists to discuss the pandemic and how to ‘mitigate its spread.
“I will follow the doctor’s orders – not just for me but for the country – and that means I will not organize rallies,” said Biden, adding that he has not yet been tested for COVID-19 . .
It was not clear whether Biden, 77, was referring to a personal physician who recommended that he stay away from health problems for him and his participants, or to US government directives that urge Americans not to not participate in events where large crowds gather.
And he did not say whether his decision could change pending an improvement in mitigation efforts in the coming months.
Biden’s announcement comes as alarm grows over US failure to contain a crisis that has already killed more than 126,000 people in the country, top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warning Congress that daily infections could more than double to 100,000 without a sufficiently robust response.
Biden said he would miss the personal relationships he establishes on the track – something the veteran Democrat is well known for.
In the few trips he made, such as to Texas or Pennsylvania, the events were modest and the participants were masked and respected the recommendations of social distancing.
On these trips, “I come home, make my point, answer questions, and go,” said Biden. “But you know me: I much prefer being with people because that’s where I feel the most.”
Instead, the vast majority of Biden’s campaign since March is virtual, as it has the difficult task of seeking to engage engagement through remote interviews, online rallies and fundraisers, and television appearances in a studio in her Delaware home.
But he suggested that, as unconventional as it was, such a process helped him get in touch with voters in an unprecedented way.
“They tell me that 200 million people watched what I did at home and the half-dozen things we did and did,” said Biden.
“And so the irony is that I think we are probably communicating directly, in detail, with more people than we would otherwise have.
Biden is currently leading the national polls, as well as surveys from several swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, battlefields that were critical to Trump’s 2016 victory.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
