AP, Chicago :
Joe Biden held a town hall in Illinois – or at least tried to – from 800 miles away in Delaware. Bernie Sanders is staging daily news conferences from Vermont, instead of his usual rallies around the country with thousands of supporters.
The global coronavirus pandemic has sent the 2020 presidential campaign into a virtual phase.
Big rallies and handshakes are out. Virtual phone banks and town halls are the new normal. Political parties and groups are canceling in-person gatherings.
States holding primaries in coming weeks have urged more voters to cast ballots by mail and extended hours for early voting centers in an effort to avoid election day crowds. On Friday, Louisiana’s governor said he planned to postpone his state’s April 4 primary to June.
·The Biden campaign scrapped plans for a Chicago rally ahead of Illinois’ Tuesday primary due to warnings from public and health officials against large gatherings. Instead, the Democratic front-runner was supposed to take questions Friday in a virtual town hall via Facebook live.
But it was a rocky start. The livestream started after Biden had begun speaking, cutting off his introduction, and at one point Biden – holding a cell phone in his hand – turned and walked partially off camera, so viewers could no longer see his face. The stream lasted less than five minutes before wrapping up, with the campaign apologizing for “technical difficulties.” “I’m sorry this has been such a disjointed effort here because of the connections,” Biden said after answering a question about protecting endangered species. “There’s a lot more to say but I’ve already probably said too much to you.”
Sanders, Biden’s rival for the Democratic nomination, has been holding daily press briefings from his home state, where he has blasted President Donald Trump and his administration’s response to the virus. Biden did the same in an address Thursday.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Sanders was subdued – the emotional opposite of the big rallies that have helped fuel his support at the polls. He drew over 10,000 people at a Chicago rally on Saturday, before officials starting warning against large events.
Sanders said his team has mastered the use of internet campaigning, livestreaming almost all of its events already.
