The Wall Street Journal - 28.03.2020 - 29.03.2020

A4| Saturday/Sunday, March 28 - 29, 2020 PWLC101112HTGKRFAM123456789OIXX **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

POLITICS

WASHINGTON

WIRE

Dispatches from the

Nation’s Capital

BYGABRIELT.RUBIN

gles with the spread of the

coronavirus. Aides say the

campaign’s focus is on the

day-to-day operation and re-

sponding to the pandemic

rather than what Mr. Sanders’s

future holds.

The campaign hasn’t put up

aTVadinmorethanaweek

and has stopped soliciting do-

nations via email to fund its op-

eration, instead pulling in

money to support organizations

that are involved in coronavirus

relief. However, the campaign is

still accepting donations on its

website and recurring funds are

still being pulled in. The Ver-

mont senator is doing frequent

virtual briefings, at times

bringing on progressive law-

makers and activists.

Mr. Sanders hasn’t indi-

cated any intention to quit the

race. His spokesman said re-

cently that he would partici-

pate in a presidential debate

in April if the Democratic Na-

tional Committee held one.

“He is being extremely

presidential and he’s showing

us exactly the way a leader

would act in this moment,”

said Katherine Abegg, 43, a

textile research and develop-

ment manager who lives in

Brooklyn.

Ms. Abegg wasn’t alone in

her passion for Mr. Sanders.

Eleven of the 25 people inter-

viewed by The Wall Street

Journal said they would have

a difficult time voting for Mr.

Biden in November and

planned to write in a name at

the top of their ballot, leave it

blank or stay home on Elec-

tion Day.

Most of those who said

they would not cast their bal-

lots for Mr. Biden said they

lived in states that were likely

to vote for the Democrat any-

way.

However, some Sanders

supporters in Arizona, a 2020

battleground state, Idaho and

Tennessee, both of which gen-

erally vote Republican, also

said they wouldn’t cast ballots

for Mr. Biden.

An aide to Mr. Biden de-

clined to comment beyond

pointing to polling that shows

the former vice president

leading Mr. Trump in swing

counties.

One Sanders supporter, 58-

year-old Brenda Wilson of

Cleveland, said Mr. Sanders

should exit the race soon. Ms.

Wilson said she is likely to

cast her ballot for Mr. Biden

when Ohio votes in June. “I

still love him,” she said of Mr.

Sanders, adding that if he re-

mains in the race, he could

hurt Mr. Biden’s chances

against Mr. Trump.

“I’m a true believer if there’s

a stronger candidate, we should

go with you,” she said.

—Ken Thomas

contributed to this article.

NANCY PELOSI TRIED TO
BAN LOBBYINGby firms that
receive funds as part of the cor-
onavirus stimulus package, but
the provision tucked into page
728 of House Democrats’ draft
proposal quickly caught the eye
of lobbyists who were assured
by Hill contacts that the provi-
sion had no chance of being in-
cluded in the final legislation
hammered out by the Senate.
“The corporation may not carry
out any Federal lobbying activi-

ties,” the House draft said.

It was one of several condi-

tions on federal aid to corpora-

tions in Pelosi’s bill. Others in-

cluded bans on stock buybacks,

restrictions on executive pay

and a ban on paying dividends

to shareholders until the federal

assistance was fully repaid.

Some of those corporate-ac-

countability conditions were ulti-

mately included in the Senate

legislation.

Some legal experts saw the

lobbying provision as a Demo-

cratic messaging effort that

wouldn’t have survived legal

scrutiny. “It’s highly likely to be

struck down as unconstitutional

under the ‘unconstitutional con-

ditions’ doctrine,” because it vio-

lates corporations’ First Amend-

ment rights to petition the

government, said Robert Kelner,

a partner at Covington & Burling

who advises companies on lob-

bying-disclosure rules.

Lobbying by firms that re-

ceive bailout money was contro-

versial during the financial crisis,

too, and had uneven outcomes:

Major banks continued to em-

ploy lobbyists, while American

International Group took a

yearslong break from lobbying

after feeling pressure from Con-

gress. It restarted in 2014 after

it had repaid its $182 billion

bailout.

BILL HAGERTY, the former

ambassador to Japan now run-

ning for Senate in Tennessee, is

following President Trump’s lead

and referring to the coronavirus

as the “Wuhan coronavirus” or

the “foreign virus,” terms re-

jected by public-health experts

like Anthony Fauci. The Republi-

can Hagerty was supposed to

hold a telephone town hall

meeting on Wednesday with

White House adviser Larry Kud-

low, and the event’s press re-

lease referred to the “Wuhan

coronavirus” numerous times in

quotes from Hagerty and Kud-

low. The event was postponed.

Hagerty has ratcheted up his

anti-China rhetoric since leaving

Japan, including writing a Breit-

bart op-ed last week blaming

China for the virus’s spread.

Trump says terms like “Chi-

nese virus” aren’t racist, but told

Fox News on Tuesday that he

would stop saying it: “I decided

we shouldn’t make any more of

a big deal out of it.” Trump has

taken issue with some Chinese

government attempts to blame

the U.S. military for the virus,

which experts agree began its

spread in Wuhan. Hagerty told

the Journal that he believes the

Chinese government was to

blame for the crisis, and that

the U.S. “cannot allow them to

rewrite history by deflecting

blame for this deadly illness.”

His former employer seems to

agree: the State Department

scuttled a G-7 joint statement

because it didn’t call the corona-

virus the “Wuhan Virus.”

DEFICIT CONCERNShave

been thrown out the window in

a time of crisis, and proponents

of larger government programs

feel vindicated. “It’s actually a

fascinating progressive moment,

because what it’s shown is that

all of these issues have never

been about how are you going

to pay for it,” Rep. Alexandria

Ocasio-Cortez said on a Bernie

Sanders campaign live stream.

Stephanie Kelton, a Sanders-

backing economist, says there

are plenty of other major pro-

grams that could be pursued

without spending offsets, includ-

ing canceling medical debt.

Fiscal conservatives say that

current economic conditions are

exceptional and akin to wartime,

so normal spending rules don’t

apply. “Larger deficits are not

only an inevitability, but are, un-

fortunately, a necessity,” the

Committee for a Responsible

Federal Budget said.

CONGRESSIONAL OVER-

SIGHTbecomes a casualty of

the pandemic. The House Judi-

ciary Committee canceled a

March 31 hearing with Attorney

General Bill Barr. That hearing

would have been Congress’s

first chance to question him

about the handling of Trump as-

sociate Roger Stone’s sentenc-

ing, which prompted all of the

front-line Justice Department

prosecutors to resign from the

case. Many in Congress worry

that oversight of the Trump ad-

ministration’s coronavirus re-

sponse will be impeded by so-

cial-distancing measures that

could keep Congress out of ses-

sion.

CORONAVIRUS ATTACK

ADSfrom Democratic groups

debut against senators accused

of selling stocks ahead of the

market’s steep decline. Majority

Forward is running spots in

Georgia attacking the state’s

GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and

David Perdue, both up for elec-

tion this year. Both have denied

allegations that they profited

from information about the vi-

rus’s expected damage by sell-

ing stocks after they received a

briefing from health officials.

Republicans see the threat of

coronavirus-related ads: a pro-

Trump Super PAC has sent

cease-and-desist letters to TV

stations in swing states to try

to block them from airing ads

about Trump’s response to the

virus.

MINOR MEMOS:Sports bet-

ting site puts odds on Trump

using words like “tremendous”

and “not our fault” in coronavi-

rus daily press briefings.... New

York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ap-

pears on his brother Chris’s CNN

show, says “Mom told me I had

to.”... Senators struggle with

work from home, too: Illinois’s

Tammy Duckworth forgets to

mute conference call with Dem-

ocratic Senate caucus, tells her

toddler to “go potty and wash

your hands then mommy will

come downstairs.”

people, and I hear them.”

Democratic Party officials

are set to meet in mid-July to

decide on their platform and

nominate the candidate who

will take on Mr. Trump in the

general election. To win the

nomination on the first ballot

at the convention, a candidate

must earn 1,991 delegates, a

majority of those awarded

through state caucuses and

primaries. As of Thursday af-

ternoon, Mr. Biden had

roughly 300 more delegates

than Mr. Sanders.

But since the coronavirus

crisis prompted some states to

delay their contests, Mr. Biden

is unlikely to sew up the nomi-

nation quickly if Mr. Sanders

remains in the race.

In an interview with NPR

Friday, Mr. Sanders said it

wouldbe“averysteeproad”

to overtake Mr. Biden.

The uncertainty caused by

Covid-19, the illness caused by

the new coronavirus, has given

some hope to a handful of Mr.

Sanders’s supporters that he

still has a shot at the nomina-

tion. They say that the crisis

has highlighted the need for a

Medicare for All system be-

cause millions of people who

lose their jobs because of the

illness could also lose their

health insurance.

“I think that the Covid stuff

is maybe the absolute best

possible thing for his cam-

paign right now,” said Kirsten

Southwell, 29, a senior de-

signer at the Art Institute of

Chicago. “I think it really con-

firms a lot of the things that

Bernie has talked about.”

Ms. Southwell and others

are hoping that voters will see

Mr. Sanders’s reaction to the

crisis and go for him in

droves, giving him the signifi-

cant margins he would need in

every state going forward.

Mr. Sanders returned to

Vermont on Thursday after

voting the night before on a

roughly $2 trillion stimulus

package aimed at bolstering

the U.S. economy as it strug-

Supporters of Bernie Sand-
ers want him to stay in the
presidential contest, despite an
unlikely path to the Democratic
nomination after a string of
primary losses in March.
The Vermont senator would
have to completely upend the
race by capturing more than
60% of the remaining dele-
gatestoovertakeformerVice
President Joe Biden and earn
the party’s nomination to face
President Trump in November.
Mr. Biden’s allies have called
for unity, but Mr. Sanders has
shown no sign of leaving the
race and has deflected ques-
tions about how long he will
continue.
In interviews with more
than two dozen Sanders sup-
porters, many of them ac-
knowledged his second bid for
the Democratic nomination
was unlikely to be successful.
But nearly all said they saw no
reason for him to exit now,
and most of those in states
with primaries still to come
said they planned to vote for
the senator.
Backers said the coronavi-
rus pandemic that has shut
down much of the U.S. high-
lights the need for many of
Mr. Sanders’s signature issues,
such as a Medicare for All
health insurance program.
They hope that his continued
presence in the race will pres-
sure the Democratic Party and
Mr. Biden to adopt more of
Mr. Sanders’s policies.
“I think he should not give
up, even if it looks like he’s
not going to be the nominee.
He needs to continue to advo-
cate for what we believe in,”
said Luis Yofe, 67 years old,
who works in the travel in-
dustry and lives in Dallas.
“For us to be enthusiastic, Bi-
den and the party will have to
adopt, in the platform for the
general election, some of the
key principles that Bernie is
advocating.”
Mr. Biden has adopted some
policies in a nod to liberals, in-
cluding an expanded free-col-
lege program. Mr. Sanders has
said the proposal doesn’t go
far enough.
“I’m happy to talk with him,
and I’ve indicated that I also
hear his supporters,” Mr. Bi-
den said on ABC’s “The View”
this week. “He’s had very
strong support from young

BYELIZACOLLINS

Sanders Backers

Want Him to

Stay in the Race

Bernie Sanders greeted the crowd at a rally in Spartanburg, S.C., at the end of February. Below, a Sanders volunteer yelled at passing cars

in Dearborn Heights, Mich., earlier this month. Some supporters acknowledged the Vermont senator’s bid was unlikely to be successful.

FROM TOP: VICTOR J. BLUE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ZUMA PRESS

‘He needs to continue

to advocate for what

we believe in,’ said

one supporter.

going investment in data and

technological infrastructure,”

asserts Ken Farnaso, deputy

press secretary for the

Trump campaign.

Former Vice President Joe

Biden is reacting in kind.

The presumptive Democratic

nominee has geared up his

own version of a Rose Gar-

den strategy by setting up a

mini TV studio in his Dela-

ware home, from which he

has delivered an online

speech, held a conference

call with reporters and con-

ducted televised interviews.

and the Trump campaign say

they have 550,000 trained

volunteers. Last Saturday,

the campaign says, support-

ers made 1.5 million calls

from their homes to other

voters, urging them to visit

the Centers for Disease Con-

trol and Prevention website

for virus guidance—while

also touting Mr. Trump’s re-

cord and urging supporters

to register to vote online if

they can.

“The Trump Campaign

has a significant advantage

because of our early and on-

Still, in political terms,

the approach appears to be

paying dividends. Mr.

Trump’s job-approval rating

has ticked up in a series of

polls. In the rolling Gallup

survey, his weekly average

has moved into positive ter-

ritory with 49% approving of

his performance while 45%

disapprove.

Meantime, his campaign

says it is utilizing digital

tools to reach voters while

much of the nation is shut-

tered. Between them, the Re-

publican National Committee

and government health ex-

perts, are on hand too, but

Mr. Trump is the clear star

of the show. On Monday, his

appearance stretched for al-

most two hours.

That has caused TV net-

works to debate whether to

continue airing the briefings

live. Meantime, the president

stirred controversy this week

by using that setting to argue

for reopening the country’s

businesses sooner rather than

later, sparking a backlash

from experts who fear such a

move is simply too risky.

while, his real campaign is

chugging along in virtual

form below the radar screen.

Technically, Mr. Trump is

using a pressroom strategy,

because the White House

briefing room rather than

the Rose Garden just beyond

its doors has become his fo-

rum for staying in front of

voters. He now makes almost

daily appearances there for a

late-afternoon briefing and

jousting session with White

House reporters.

Other officials, including

Vice President Mike Pence

Sometimes presidents
choose to adopt a Rose Gar-
den strategy to campaign for
re-election, opting to make
their case
with the
White House
as a dramatic
backdrop.
President
Trump was
forced to adopt such a strat-
egy because of the coronavi-
rus, and he worked this week
to make the most of it. Mean-



THIS

WEEK

BYGERALDF.SEIB

Virus Pushes Trump to a Rose Garden Campaign Strategy