What Joe Biden’s Event Was Like - The New York Times

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Talk politics with Lisa Lerer

While one candidate is playing in an almost empty room, another candidate is preparing to attend a rally that poses health risks.

Darby, Pennsylvania-In 2020, the presidential campaign will be chaotic or quiet.

In my political career, I participated in hundreds of presidential campaigns.

I have never been to something like Joe Biden's economic speech in suburban Philadelphia.

A soundtrack of annoying pop music that is not carefully selected in the background. No reporters compete for power outlets and positioning. Candidates do not need to walk the rope, shake hands and take photos.

Oh, there are almost no voters.

Approximately 20 carefully selected local officials, small business owners and reporters sat in folding chairs. Each chair was placed in a large white circle attached to the floor of the entertainment center to maintain (or at least encourage) social distance . While the photographer was chatting quietly, some attendees whispered to each other. You will hear echoing knocks in the room. The silence is amazing.

Almost everyone wears a mask. Before entering,

The workers asked about our body temperature and asked if we showed any symptoms of Covid-19, which is caused by the coronavirus.

A staff member announced: "We will start using it within a minute." "Today's event has been set to comply with social evacuation guidelines."

Then, Mr. Biden appeared. He arrived with fanfare, and I didn't even notice him entering the room. Organizers did not make introductions to attract non-existent crowds, which is common in election campaigns. He just stood behind the podium, posted a slogan "Reopening Rights: Safer, Stronger," and then began to read the speaker's speech, mocking President Trump.

He said: "Donald Trump failed to fight the coronavirus with the same concentration as he did when he launched the enemy on Twitter, which cost us our lives and put the hope of economic recovery at risk ,"He said. "Just like he doesn't want Covid to leave in March, just like he can't tweet in April, he can't ignore it in June."

Hundreds of miles to the west, local officials are preparing for a completely different campaign.

On Monday, Mr. Trump boasted that on Saturday, nearly one million people requested tickets for his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The venue there holds slightly more than 19,000. Mr. Trump said that another 40,000 people will watch from a screen set up at the city’s convention center.

However, Tulsa officials warned that the rally may help spread the coronavirus (see more below). "Let me be clear, anyone planning to attend a mass gathering will be at risk of signing Covid-19," said Bruce Dart, a senior health official in the city.

Mr. Biden has some thoughts on Trump’s rally. He said the president is putting people’s health at risk and pointed out that the campaign requires attendees to participate.

If they are sick.

At the same time, Trump's campaign has been criticizing Biden because of his short timetable.

Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh said: “This is obviously a strategy that can help him avoid making mistakes, embarrassing people, and getting confused, while also preventing the press from asking in person. He has any questions."

Both camps believe that their approach is correct. Mr. Trump believes that his road to victory runs through his base, and this group is even more suspicious of the harm of this virus. even

He has promised that if the number of viruses surges, the country will not shut down again. Mike Pence, Vice President

There will be no second wave, ignoring the current surge in cases.

Biden believes that he can win by following public health guidelines, respecting science, and providing the stability that many Americans desire after the chaos of the Trump administration.

"Man, this is a fact. The pandemic is still there. Mr. Biden said today. It will be here in the foreseeable future." Covid-19 is a natural fact. We must deal with this virus and everything that comes with it. "

The presidential campaign has always revolved around the country’s different visions: developing the economy, managing the enemy, the best way to deal with health care or mitigating climate change, these are issues the country has been trying to solve for decades.

This is not the case in 2020. In this campaign, Americans chose between reality.

Senior Health Officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Regarding hosting President Trump’s first campaign rally since March, a large indoor gathering is expected to be held on Saturday, bringing thousands of people to the area. The city announced 96 new coronavirus cases today, which is the largest single-day increase in Tulsa since March.

Bruce Dart, executive director of the city’s health department, said he was “absolutely” worried that Trump’s rally could become a “super spreader” incident, leading to more deaths. Mr. Dart pointed out that he has recommended that the event be postponed to a safer situation and that large groups should be called indoors. He also urged more than 60 people who would like to participate: "Please stay at home. Seek other ways of virtual participation."

Dart said at the press conference: "We are in the midst of a pandemic." "If you want to use your own voice, please use it safely, wear a mask, and maintain social distancing. Get together and you will definitely see an increase in infections. And the deaths caused by these infections have increased."

But the mayor of Tulsa, GT Bynum, a Republican who was friendly to Trump's campaign, said he felt "honoured" for his city to be elected president because he returned to the campaign line. He pointed out that this event will be the first presidential rally to be held in Tulsa since President George Bush visited 20 years ago.

"After this president came out of this event, he would single out our city and say,'That's a city that does things the right way, that's a city that reopens in the right way' and wants to come here Is it? I am indeed honored to take this," Mr. Bynum said. He added that “any reasonable person looking at any group of people” would be worried about weekend activities, but participants should wear masks and use hand sanitizer.

When asked why he ignored the proposal of the top health official to postpone the rally, Mr. Bynum said it was not his decision and that he does not control bookings at the BOK Center in the stadium, which signed a contract with the Trump campaign. .

The consensus among scientists is that the risk of indoor crowding is greater than the risk of outdoor crowding, because indoor airflow may not spread virus particles like outdoor breeze. But scientists have also warned of the dangers of outdoor crowds.

Some officials also expressed concern about national outdoor protests against police brutality. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti worried that the protests would become a "super spreader incident," and health officials urged the protesters to be tested for the coronavirus.

The Trump administration does not want John Bolton to publish his easy-to-understand books. Critics of the president say that Mr. Bolton should testify in the impeachment proceedings. So both camps can be enjoyed

:

In his 17-month experience as a national security adviser for Trump, he wrote about the "room of occurrence". He paid so little attention to style and narrative form that he apparently thought the audience was salivating. …

Although this book mainly describes Bolton's inability to do his job well, its self-inflated nose. It switches between two inconsistent registers: very cumbersome and slightly confusing.