President Trump was goading Joe Biden into returning early to the campaign trail. But that pressure valve’s been released after a flawed foray in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Before last Saturday, Trump and his team bragged that 1 million people had clamored for tickets to his comeback rally in Tulsa. The event, his first rally since March, was scheduled despite federal, state, and local officials warnings it shouldn’t be staged during the COVID-19 outbreak. Plans were even made for an overflow crowd on top of the Bank of Oklahoma Center’s 19,000-person capacity.
Yet only 6,200 people turned up, occupying less than half the arena. And a second speech to the overflow group was scrapped.
Hours earlier, the Trump camp revealed that six staffers tasked with organizing the gathering had tested positive for the coronavirus.
And Trump aides were forced to rebut claims K-pop fans and teenagers on social media platform TikTok had pranked them into expecting a bigger rally with fake ticket requests. Instead, Trump reelection campaign manager Brad Parscale blamed press coverage of the virus and civil unrest in response to racial injustice and police brutality for the poor attendance.
Biden, a 36-year Delaware senator before two terms as President Barack Obama’s vice president, has been mocked for only quietly politicking during the pandemic. Biden has made appearances from his basement or porch, where he sometimes competes to be heard over Canadian geese in his backyard. He’s held glitchy, orchestrated virtual events, been selective regarding media access, and has ventured only as far as Pennsylvania from his Delaware property for small stops. He had obeyed a stay-at-home order until Memorial Day, though even before the lockdowns he’d struggle to attract 6,000-odd people to a rally.
Simultaneously, crowd-obsessed Trump’s unsuccessful trip boosts Democratic figures and strategists who’ve been arguing Biden’s “fine in his basement,” including former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Trump’s contributing to his own defeat through his handling of COVID-19 and roiled race relations, they contend.
Trump staffers are trying to neutralize the tactic by urging cable news outlets to broadcast gaffe-prone Biden’s town halls, listening sessions, and addresses in full. They’re also highlighting how it’s been more than 80 days since his last press conference.
“To be running for president and not be able to face this media as President Trump goes in front of the media every single day before he gets on Marine One. He’s the most accessible president we have ever seen in the media, and Joe Biden is trying to run this ‘Bide-n-seek’ campaign. It’s not going to work forever,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News Monday, referencing the pair’s upcoming debates.
Catholic University of America politics professor Matthew Green told the Washington Examiner those Democrats had a point, given Biden’s average 9.5 percentage point lead on Trump in national polls.
“Biden has been in his basement and is beating Trump in the polls. So there’s almost a way in which this election is about evaluating the incumbent and translating general views about the economy into a vote choice, as opposed to relying heavily on the campaign tactics of the challenger,” he said.
Green emphasized that he wasn’t saying retail politics aren’t important, only that Trump wasn’t benefiting from the bully pulpit.
“An incumbent should have these natural advantages, and either Trump doesn’t know how to use them, or they’re not there anyway,” he said. “You kind of wonder if Biden didn’t campaign, he might do better.”
Northeastern University politics professor Costas Panagopoulos countered with his belief Biden can’t rest on his laurels.
“Biden cannot just sit on the sidelines. He needs to keep reminding voters he’s in this race, that he’s a viable alternative to Trump, and that he’s fighting for every vote. He can’t appear to take anything for granted,” Panagopoulos told the Washington Examiner.
But Biden still has time, according to the American Politics Research editor.
“Most voters have either made up their minds already or will not tune in until the conventions or the fall campaign, especially in light of the pandemic and other preoccupations,” Panagopoulos said. “Biden can probably lay low until then, and then hit the throttle after Labor Day. In fact, that strategy might be his best bet.”
