6 Time March 30, 2020
A
n eon ago, on super Tuesday, joe biden,
flanked by his wife and sister, gave a victory
speech to a cheering crowd. Two weeks later,
on March 17, he delivered another, on a night
when he swept primaries in Arizona, Florida and Illinois.
It should have been a triumphant moment: Biden has
racked up eight victories in 10 states and territories since
his commanding performance on Super Tuesday, all but
clinching the Democratic presidential nomination.
Yet this time Biden was totally alone. Speaking from
his home in Wilmington, Del., the former Vice President
was flanked this time by two American flags. Gone was his
stump speech, in which Biden talks about the threat posed
by President Donald Trump and the “battle for the soul of
the nation.” Instead he focused on the fight against a virus
that has transformed American life in the blink of an eye.
“This pandemic has impacted every aspect of our
lives and every aspect of this campaign,” Biden
said. “This pandemic is a national emergency,
akin to fighting a war.” The awkward livestream
footage gave his speech the look of a hostage
video.
in the space between Biden’s speeches, two
things have become clear. First, the 2020 presi-
dential election has become a two-man race be-
tween Biden and Trump. And second, the con-
test—at least for the next few months—is going
to look nothing like any other in modern times.
The public-health crisis has disrupted voting
across the country. Ohio postponed its primary
scheduled for March 17, and Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana and Maryland have also pushed back
their elections. Some poll workers in all three
states that voted March 17 failed to show up. It’s
impossible to know how many voters were dis-
suaded from going to the polls out of concern for
their health, or how many will be in the future.
The candidates have suspended rallies and
stopped glad-handing, opting instead for digital
town halls and livestream events. If COVID-
isn’t under control by the summer, both parties
may have to adjust or cancel their plans to hold
traditional nominating conventions. There are
real health risks for both the candidates and the
voters. Biden is 77 and Trump is 73, and the virus
has proved particularly dangerous for older peo-
ple. Besides, canceling events could represent a
welcome change of pace. “Honestly, with major-
party nominees in their 70s, this must come partly
as a relief to their campaigns,” says Lis Smith, a
top strategist to former presidential candidate Pete Butti-
gieg. “Campaigns are really taxing.”
The candidates will be campaigning behind glass to
run a nation that is now effectively on lockdown. “Fun-
damentally, campaigns are about touching people,” says
Jared Leopold, a Democratic strategist who worked on
Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s presidential bid. “The
idea of a campaign without handshaking and big crowd
events would be a fundamental change to the way every
presidential campaign has been run.”
It’s a blow to Trump, whose signature rallies have been
both a show of strength and a source of voter data. And
while Biden is tireless at working rope lines, Democratic
strategists say the changes could be a blessing in disguise.
“If you’re a campaign that has always looked for con-
trolled moments, then this gives you the excuse you need,”
says progressive strategist Rebecca Katz.
The coronavirus hasn’t just changed the style of the cam-
paign. It’s also upped the stakes. For the past year, the Dem-
ocratic race has been a negotiation of progressive priorities
from immigration reform to student debt to Medicare for
All. Now, with Biden running up an all-but- insurmountable
lead— Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign manager
said March 18 that the candidate would “assess” the
future of his bid—the primary is effectively over, and
the 2020 election is shifting to a referendum on the
President’s leadership during what could be a world-
altering pandemic.
Incumbent Presidents often benefit from cam-
paigning amid a national battle. But it also gives
Biden an opportunity. “In every election, there is a
major national or international issue that the non-
incumbent can use to publicly play President and
give the public a taste of the imagery and activity
they’d expect if elected,” says John Legittino, an
aide to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
Biden, who was Barack Obama’s understudy for
eight years, has seized the moment. The corona-
virus response “should be directed from the White
House, from the Situation Room, laying out in detail
like we did in the Ebola crisis,” he said during the
March 15 debate, conducted in a CNN studio with
no live audience. “And we beat it.” In that debate,
Biden mentioned the Situation Room four times.
As he pivots to take on Trump and the corona-
virus, Biden must find a way to make peace with
Sanders’ supporters. In his victory speech March 17,
he made specific overtures to the Vermont Senator
and praised the “tenacity” of his young left-wing
base. “I hear you, I know what’s at stake, I know
what we have to do,” he said. “Our goal as a cam-
paign and my goal as a candidate for President is to
unify this party and then to unify the nation.”
Two weeks ago, that line would have been greeted
with applause. Instead, it was a unity message in iso-
lation, delivered to an empty room. —With reporting
by philip ellioTT/WashingTon and madeleine
carlisle/neW york □TheBrief Opener
‘This pandemic
has impacted
every aspect of
our lives and
every aspect of
this campaign.’
JOE BIDEN,
Democratic presidential
candidate and former
Vice PresidentPOLITICS
Welcome to the
coronavirus campaign
By Charlotte Alter and Lissandra Villa