WASHINGTON: No honking goose is likely to interrupt his speeches this time.
As President Joe Biden seeks a second term, he won’t have to depend on glitches Zoom connections or making remarks in largely vacant theaters with attendees seated in chairs surrounded by circular markings on the floor to ensure sufficient social distancing. His advisers will not examine the 1918 flu epidemic for clues about voting in the age of the pandemic.
As the country increasingly returns to normalcy, Biden can fly to crowded campaign events on Air Force One, make political announcements from the Rose Garden, and shape not just the presidential race but global affairs with his actions. .
Just as the 2024 campaign will be vastly different from the coronavirus-tainted 2020, Biden will not be able to retain the White House by running the same way he won it three years ago. Virtual events are being offered from a basement game room he’s converted into a studio in his Delaware home and avoiding travel for months at a stretch won’t be enough this time around.
A return to more typical campaign rhythms presents both opportunities and potential challenges for Biden.
Lockdowns have made campaigning in 2020 far less grueling, so much so that Donald Trump has frequently accused Biden, now 80, of ignoring voters. But avoiding crowds has also often made it harder for Biden to drum up excitement among supporters. He also avoided the kind of spontaneous interactions with the public and the press that have led to memorable blunders in the past but sometimes created endearing moments.
“If any presidential candidate has benefited from the virtual mold of 2020, it’s Joe,” said Democratic strategist Nicole Brener-Schmitz. “But he has shown throughout his presidency that he is fully capable of travelling, participating in rallies, organizing events and participating in town halls. There should be no worries that there’s a ‘normal’ campaign and the American public is like, ‘Oh no. ‘”
Biden advisers say that among the many societal changes wrought by the pandemic, the campaign has also changed. Voters have adapted to using different platforms to engage with politics and candidates. Biden’s team also notes that the president is the only successful national candidate so far in this new environment, and his advisers aim to build on the lessons of 2020, finding new ways to deliver the most effective message to people. individual voters.
Biden himself is unlikely to fail to campaign online. During one of his first virtual addresses in March 2020, he lost his place in his prepared remarks and made an awkward gesture to the staff who stood out of frame. Two months later, as Biden virtually addressed members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Victory Fund, a more shocking off-camera distraction came from Canada geese clustered around a pond in his garden.
“If you hear them honking, they’re clapping,” Biden joked.
Although the quality of the production has improved over time, Biden’s online presentations have often been overshadowed by what Asset was doing — so much so that Biden’s campaign resorted to creating a short-lived podcast. They also studied the ballot in the 1918 midterm elections, when turnout plummeted amid the influenza pandemic.
Even after resuming campaigning in person with social distancing circles, drive-thru rallies and other small events in battleground states, Biden was almost always returning every night to sleep at his Delaware home. This time it would be Air Force Once that would bring him back to the White House or Delaware.
One downside of 2020, aides said, was Biden’s inability to meet people during the campaign trail. Even with Secret Service protection, a brief one-on-one will now be possible – but it also increases the likelihood that Biden will say something he regrets.
In December 2019, a New Hampshire man suggested Biden was too old and also raised questions about the then-candidate’s son’s overseas business ties. Biden called it a “damned haunt” and suggested a push-up contest – at times recalling his verbal gaffes as vice whitewashed the Obama White House.
Biden was also at his weakest during the in-person campaign in early 2020. Although he joined the race as a perceived frontrunner, he lost the first three Democratic primary contests and only won his nomination. left only after the pandemic took hold.
He offered a sweeping program that appealed to moderate Democrats at first, but shifted left as the general election approached — promising big increases in federal spending on health care, social programs and education. environment while boosting domestic manufacturing and the country’s crumbling infrastructure.
With Democrats controlling Congress last year, Biden delivered on many of those promises. But he has moved to the center more recently, which some progressives say will alienate the Democratic base.
“Unless he’s hermetically sealed and he doesn’t want to talk to anyone under 30, he’s going to be asked, ‘You said the last time you ran for president period, period, period. What’s up with that?'” Norman said. Solomon, national director of RootsAction.org, a progressive group that has championed the “Don’t Run Joe” campaign trying to convince Biden to give up seeking a second term.
Pandemic aside, the 2020 campaign was unique in unfolding as a summer of protests denouncing police brutality and racial injustice erupted following the murder of George Floyd. Biden was unable to get Congress to approve major criminal justice reform, leaving some black activists disappointed that nothing more was done on this issue or to protect voting rights across the country. country.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last week found the president’s 58% approval rating among black adults was down sharply from the roughly 9 in 10 who approved of Biden over the past week. of his first months in power.
Only about half of Democrats polled said they want Biden to run again, but 81% said they would at least likely support him in next year’s general election. Among black adults, however, enthusiasm lagged: only 41% said they wanted him to run and 55% said they were likely to support him in the general election.
Questions about the 80-year-old Biden’s physical stamina, meanwhile, will be more pronounced this time around, as Biden would be 86 after a second term.
Aides admit that the travels and rigors of a normal presidential campaign are brutal, but no comparison to the demands of the presidency, with its crowded intercontinental travels and waking up in the middle of the night to respond to global crises. And for much of the next year, Biden will focus more intently on his day job, with his advisers arguing that being an effective president makes the case better than anything else for another four years in the White House.
Democrats also note that unlike 2020, when the lockdowns saw the party and its core outside supporters abandon knocking on doors and other in-person activities to engage their grassroots voters, such efforts will return this time.
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which has 1.4 million members nationwide, said voter mobilization efforts have continued uninterrupted since the pandemic took hold. is attenuated. Those that helped Democrats to a surprisingly strong midterm election are already underway for 2024, he said, and focus on the legislative achievements of Biden and his party.
“We just have to talk about these victories. All of us collectively: workers and their allies, the White House, our friends on the Hill, our governors, our state officials and our mayors,” Saunders said.
Biden’s team has been mostly focused on running against Trump again. Even a rematch wouldn’t look like 2020, since Biden will be the starter. That worries Solomon, who said Biden’s White House has “been complacent” in insisting Biden can outplay Trump again in 2024.
“Those refrains coming out of the White House, ‘Oh, he beat Trump before, he can beat him again,'” Solomon said. “This time Biden is going to represent the status quo as an incumbent. That’s a fundamental problem.”
But Brener-Schmitz noted the incumbent still has an edge, being able to tap into the Democrats’ fan base and national infrastructure, allowing the president to focus on connecting personally with voters.
She added: “This is where Joe Biden thrives.”
As President Joe Biden seeks a second term, he won’t have to depend on glitches Zoom connections or making remarks in largely vacant theaters with attendees seated in chairs surrounded by circular markings on the floor to ensure sufficient social distancing. His advisers will not examine the 1918 flu epidemic for clues about voting in the age of the pandemic.
As the country increasingly returns to normalcy, Biden can fly to crowded campaign events on Air Force One, make political announcements from the Rose Garden, and shape not just the presidential race but global affairs with his actions. .
Just as the 2024 campaign will be vastly different from the coronavirus-tainted 2020, Biden will not be able to retain the White House by running the same way he won it three years ago. Virtual events are being offered from a basement game room he’s converted into a studio in his Delaware home and avoiding travel for months at a stretch won’t be enough this time around.
A return to more typical campaign rhythms presents both opportunities and potential challenges for Biden.
Lockdowns have made campaigning in 2020 far less grueling, so much so that Donald Trump has frequently accused Biden, now 80, of ignoring voters. But avoiding crowds has also often made it harder for Biden to drum up excitement among supporters. He also avoided the kind of spontaneous interactions with the public and the press that have led to memorable blunders in the past but sometimes created endearing moments.
“If any presidential candidate has benefited from the virtual mold of 2020, it’s Joe,” said Democratic strategist Nicole Brener-Schmitz. “But he has shown throughout his presidency that he is fully capable of travelling, participating in rallies, organizing events and participating in town halls. There should be no worries that there’s a ‘normal’ campaign and the American public is like, ‘Oh no. ‘”
Biden advisers say that among the many societal changes wrought by the pandemic, the campaign has also changed. Voters have adapted to using different platforms to engage with politics and candidates. Biden’s team also notes that the president is the only successful national candidate so far in this new environment, and his advisers aim to build on the lessons of 2020, finding new ways to deliver the most effective message to people. individual voters.
Biden himself is unlikely to fail to campaign online. During one of his first virtual addresses in March 2020, he lost his place in his prepared remarks and made an awkward gesture to the staff who stood out of frame. Two months later, as Biden virtually addressed members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Victory Fund, a more shocking off-camera distraction came from Canada geese clustered around a pond in his garden.
“If you hear them honking, they’re clapping,” Biden joked.
Although the quality of the production has improved over time, Biden’s online presentations have often been overshadowed by what Asset was doing — so much so that Biden’s campaign resorted to creating a short-lived podcast. They also studied the ballot in the 1918 midterm elections, when turnout plummeted amid the influenza pandemic.
Even after resuming campaigning in person with social distancing circles, drive-thru rallies and other small events in battleground states, Biden was almost always returning every night to sleep at his Delaware home. This time it would be Air Force Once that would bring him back to the White House or Delaware.
One downside of 2020, aides said, was Biden’s inability to meet people during the campaign trail. Even with Secret Service protection, a brief one-on-one will now be possible – but it also increases the likelihood that Biden will say something he regrets.
In December 2019, a New Hampshire man suggested Biden was too old and also raised questions about the then-candidate’s son’s overseas business ties. Biden called it a “damned haunt” and suggested a push-up contest – at times recalling his verbal gaffes as vice whitewashed the Obama White House.
Biden was also at his weakest during the in-person campaign in early 2020. Although he joined the race as a perceived frontrunner, he lost the first three Democratic primary contests and only won his nomination. left only after the pandemic took hold.
He offered a sweeping program that appealed to moderate Democrats at first, but shifted left as the general election approached — promising big increases in federal spending on health care, social programs and education. environment while boosting domestic manufacturing and the country’s crumbling infrastructure.
With Democrats controlling Congress last year, Biden delivered on many of those promises. But he has moved to the center more recently, which some progressives say will alienate the Democratic base.
“Unless he’s hermetically sealed and he doesn’t want to talk to anyone under 30, he’s going to be asked, ‘You said the last time you ran for president period, period, period. What’s up with that?'” Norman said. Solomon, national director of RootsAction.org, a progressive group that has championed the “Don’t Run Joe” campaign trying to convince Biden to give up seeking a second term.
Pandemic aside, the 2020 campaign was unique in unfolding as a summer of protests denouncing police brutality and racial injustice erupted following the murder of George Floyd. Biden was unable to get Congress to approve major criminal justice reform, leaving some black activists disappointed that nothing more was done on this issue or to protect voting rights across the country. country.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll last week found the president’s 58% approval rating among black adults was down sharply from the roughly 9 in 10 who approved of Biden over the past week. of his first months in power.
Only about half of Democrats polled said they want Biden to run again, but 81% said they would at least likely support him in next year’s general election. Among black adults, however, enthusiasm lagged: only 41% said they wanted him to run and 55% said they were likely to support him in the general election.
Questions about the 80-year-old Biden’s physical stamina, meanwhile, will be more pronounced this time around, as Biden would be 86 after a second term.
Aides admit that the travels and rigors of a normal presidential campaign are brutal, but no comparison to the demands of the presidency, with its crowded intercontinental travels and waking up in the middle of the night to respond to global crises. And for much of the next year, Biden will focus more intently on his day job, with his advisers arguing that being an effective president makes the case better than anything else for another four years in the White House.
Democrats also note that unlike 2020, when the lockdowns saw the party and its core outside supporters abandon knocking on doors and other in-person activities to engage their grassroots voters, such efforts will return this time.
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which has 1.4 million members nationwide, said voter mobilization efforts have continued uninterrupted since the pandemic took hold. is attenuated. Those that helped Democrats to a surprisingly strong midterm election are already underway for 2024, he said, and focus on the legislative achievements of Biden and his party.
“We just have to talk about these victories. All of us collectively: workers and their allies, the White House, our friends on the Hill, our governors, our state officials and our mayors,” Saunders said.
Biden’s team has been mostly focused on running against Trump again. Even a rematch wouldn’t look like 2020, since Biden will be the starter. That worries Solomon, who said Biden’s White House has “been complacent” in insisting Biden can outplay Trump again in 2024.
“Those refrains coming out of the White House, ‘Oh, he beat Trump before, he can beat him again,'” Solomon said. “This time Biden is going to represent the status quo as an incumbent. That’s a fundamental problem.”
But Brener-Schmitz noted the incumbent still has an edge, being able to tap into the Democrats’ fan base and national infrastructure, allowing the president to focus on connecting personally with voters.
She added: “This is where Joe Biden thrives.”
