Coronavirus May Make Election 2020 Even Weirder

Biden says online Democratic convention is 'very possible'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 6, 2020 12:06 AM CDT
Biden: We May Need to Hold Convention Online
In this image from video provided by the Biden for President campaign, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual press briefing Wednesday, March 25, 2020.   (Biden for President via AP)

Joe Biden said Sunday that the Democratic National Convention, already delayed until August because of the coronavirus, may need to take place online as the pandemic continues to reshape the race for the White House, the AP reports. The party "may have to do a virtual convention,” the former vice president said. “The idea of holding the convention is going to be necessary. We may not be able to put 10, 20, 30,000 people in one place," he told ABC's This Week, calling an online convention "very possible.'' Biden publicly endorsed delaying the convention before the move to do so was announced, and said Sunday that the extraordinary measure of holding one all online is still not a certainty. “What we do between now and then is going to dictate a lot of that as well," he said. “But my point is that I think you just got to follow the science. Listen to the experts."

The once-crowded Democratic primary has dwindled to Biden, who has a commanding delegate lead, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. But both have switched to addressing supporters online from home, with travel and campaign rallies suspended for weeks because of the outbreak. Democrats hoped an early gathering would give the party more time to unify around a nominee who could defeat President Trump in November. But officials announced on Thursday they were taking the unprecedented step of postponing the Milwaukee convention, originally scheduled for mid-July, until August, just before the Republican National Convention is scheduled. Biden also said he planned to wear a mask in public, heeding new federal guidelines that Americans use face coverings when venturing out. That contradicts Trump, who says he's choosing not to do that. “He may not like how he looks in a mask," Biden said of the president.

(More Election 2020 stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X