One candidate broadcasts from a makeshift studio in his basement. Hours later, the other takes to the White House briefing room flanked on one side by Rear Adm. John Polowczyk in his military uniform and on the other by the attorney general, representing the power at his disposal as the president of the United States.
While Joe Biden’s 14-minute address left supporters flipping through TV channels in vain to find a station broadcasting his words live, President Trump dominated coverage of the coronavirus pandemic as he has done with eight straight days of appearances.
“He has a TV mind and understands the power of pictures,” said an adviser. “Joe Biden looked like the rest of us working from home, which may generate a feeling that we are all in this together.”
“But right now, when everything feels like it is breaking down,” added the adviser, “don’t you want a candidate who looks like a commander in chief?”
[Related: Where’s Joe Biden? In his basement, adjusting to a digital campaign style]
Both campaigns are scrambling to adjust to an election year in which gatherings are effectively banned. With the White House press corps thinned out and travel off the schedule for now, it means Trump has lost one of his favorite newsmaking outlets: “Chopper Talk,” his informal Q&A sessions with reporters as he prepares to fly out on Marine One.
But while Trump’s supporters can still trumpet the action being taken by his administration, and the president can use telegenic locations such as the Rose Garden for a Fox News town hall, as he did Tuesday, Biden’s aides must find a way of pushing their message while not being accused of taking partisan shots during a time of crisis.
“What I’m concerned about is that we see Donald Trump every day with this crisis giving his press report,” a donor told Biden on a virtual fundraising call on Sunday, according to several reports. “And 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.
But the nature of the crisis means Biden cannot visit victims of the pandemic to display the sort of empathy that the president frequently struggles to demonstrate.
Even so, Biden did not do any of the Sunday shows and has been largely absent from cable channels during the day (a time when many people are stuck at home with little to do), and #WhereIsJoe has popped up on social media.
On Monday, he appeared from his Delaware home before a backdrop of bookshelves and personal photographs. “Are we ready to go?” he said to someone off-screen before rubbing his nose and then launching into an address that criticized Trump’s response as insufficient and demanded he act like the wartime leader he claimed to be.
But it was not enough to cut through the coverage of an unfolding pandemic. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC instead streamed a briefing being given by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In contrast, Trump’s briefings have frequently been delayed until Cuomo’s appearances have ended.
On Tuesday, Biden tried an appearance on The View, again from his basement.
Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said, “The president is leading an unprecedented mobilization of America against the coronavirus, and all Joe Biden can offer is ineffective partisan sniping from the sidelines.”
