Despite the coronavirus forcing electoral proceedings to go down other routes, and a shift in priorities as the pandemic grows worse in the United States, it appears that the odds are against Joe Biden’s favor. The former vice president has often been overshadowed by Donald Trump’s briefings and announcements as of late.
Biden started out his presidential campaign on shaky ground, often trailing behind his rivals at the time. That was until the past few months saw a surge of victories left and right for the former vice president, due to his ability to connect with so many people. However, as the coronavirus crisis escalated, according to a piece from AFP via MSN, Biden was pushed further into the background as the current administration is taking over the airwaves in their efforts to handle the pandemic, which has since affected thousands of people. This leaves Biden struggling to get the publicity and attention he needs during this time in order to maintain his momentum.
The former vice president remains at his home, abiding by social distancing guidelines and conducting interviews and delivering messages from there to his supporters and to the public. Biden has also constantly criticized the Trump administration for their failure to act quickly as the cases escalated.
However, according to David Parker of Montana State University, Biden being pushed into the background at the moment is not a problem. “I think the best idea is to let the president try to govern, and expose the fact that his style of leadership is not effective for this crisis moment,” said Parker.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Democratic National Convention that was scheduled for July has now been postponed until August over the concerns of the coronavirus. The Democratic party will use the convention to pick who would ultimately be the candidate to face Trump in the November elections. The pandemic has already resulted in Biden and Bernie Sanders moving their campaigns online, and several states have decided to postpone their in-person primary elections.
Joe Solmonese, the chief executive of the DNC committee, said: “In our current state of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds.”