As President Donald Trump dominates the daytime airwaves with marathon daily press briefings about the coronavirus, Joe Biden says that he will be countering that with a “presentation” via a makeshift studio from his home starting on Monday.
“They put a new high-speed line in my home. They’ve converted a recreation room, basically, into a television studio,” Biden told a donor at a “virtual” fundraiser on Sunday. “I guess tomorrow, I’m making the first presentation at 11:30 AM thereabouts Eastern standard time. And I am going to speak to these issues.”
Some Democrats have been calling for Biden to be a much more frequent TV presence, as Trump has the benefit of the presidential bully pulpit in the midst of a crisis. The White House has returned to daily briefings to give updates on the crisis, and they have been covered by cable news networks as well as the major broadcast networks in special reports.
The donor had expressed concerns that Biden was ceding the airwaves to Trump. “I would just love to see you more. Like, how do we get more of you and less of him on our airwaves?” the donor asked, according to a pool report.
The Biden campaign has not yet announced details of the appearances, but it signals a more active role in addressing the coronavirus crisis.
“I want to be in daily or at least significant contact with the American people and communicate what I think we should be doing and how we should be doing it,” Biden told reporters on Friday.
Trump’s reelection campaign already has been promoting a hashtag, #whereisjoebiden.
After his victories in last week’s primaries, Biden spoke from Wilmington, DE, via streaming.