Biden offers advice for families amid coronavirus pandemic in new virtual campaign effort
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign is working to expand their virtual campaign efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic, previewing a town hall with the presidential candidate and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden focused on helping families during the uncertain time.
“This is a tough time, and it's particularly confusing, I think, for kids” Biden said in a video previewing the town hall exclusively obtained by ABC News.
Moderated by former Olympic figure skater and current Biden aide, Michelle Kwan, the town hall features a conversation with three families who document portions of their lives on YouTube, as well as former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy.
The town hall is the campaign’s latest attempt to connect with voters virtually, as they adjust to the new digital reality of the 2020 campaign during the public health crisis.
According to a release from the campaign announcing the event, the town hall seeks to “provid[e] parents and children across the country with advice on how to stay connected, continue schoolwork, take care of each other, and spread joy and kindness during times of great uncertainty and anxiety.”
The full town hall will be streamed on Biden’s website April 5th at 7pm, according to a release, and features a more informal conversation with Biden than previous campaign events aimed at younger Americans.
The Biden campaign has experimented with different methods of digital campaigning since the coronavirus crisis has kept Biden off the trail, including the release of a podcast hosted by the former vice president, and multiple virtual events with the candidate participating from his new in-home television studio in a recreation room at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Those events have brought varying degrees of success for a campaign that leans heavily on Biden’s ability to connect one-one-one with voters at in-person events. Following struggles in the early days of the crisis to adapt to the digital campaign trail, it took roughly a week for Biden and his team to build the technical infrastructure needed for the candidate to hold regular virtual events and appear live for cable and network television interviews.
The town hall is the first campaign event in over a week, as the campaign has put a higher priority on television and radio interviews with Biden, focusing on the coronavirus response effort and attempting to offer a split-screen to President Trump’s widely-viewed daily briefings from the White House.
Asked in an interview last week about the difficulties of campaigning without the ability to hold physical events, Biden conceded that there are “some frustrations,” but said he is “learning” how to adapt to the new normal.
“It's just a different way of learning how to try to communicate with people, what you're concerned about and what you would do if you were in the situation, the present situation,” Biden said in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
