Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 21 March 2020
2020 campaigns go digital amid fears of coronavirus spread

By BRIAN SLODYSKO, AL- ads while the crisis in ongo-
EXANDRA JAFFE and ZEKE ing.
MILLER Another area of uncer-
Associated Press tainty is whether any of the
WASHINGTON (AP) — No contenders will still be able
more rallies. No more door- to rake in gobs of money,
knocking. And no more in- the lifeblood of any cam-
person fundraisers, raking in paign.
dollars from dozens of mil- With big-dollar events on
lionaires at once. hold, the candidates and
The coronavirus has dis- the parties could struggle
rupted American life, and to bring in large checks.
the 2020 presidential cam- The financial uncertainty
paign is no exception. Amid could also depress grass-
calls for social distancing roots donations from those
to stop the pandemic's who give small amounts
spread, President Donald online.
Trump and Democrats Joe "We have to be thoughtful
Biden and Bernie Sanders about how we ask people
have had little choice but In this image from video provided by BernieSanders.com, Democratic presidential candidate for money," Flaherty said.
to call off large-scale pub- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks from Washington, Tuesday, March 17, 2020. "We're moving into a space
lic events in favor of poli- Associated Press where the economy is go-
ticking online and over the ing to be tougher."
airwaves. pletely put on hold. digital director, acknowl- pivot to virtual campaign- Not everyone is concerned,
Gone are the rope lines, Since events halted ear- edged livestream technol- ing. But no amount of though.
selfies with supporters and lier this month, Sanders has ogy is "one of the things technology can replicate "Any Democratic Party of-
entourages of traveling held a virtual rally featuring that we're struggling with." the arena rallies that have ficial who's agonizing over
press. They're being re- rocker Neil Young and ap- "He's the best retail politi- served as mass organiz- what type of fundraising we
placed — for now — with peared via livestream for cian in the entire world, ing and communication do or what type of conven-
tools of the digital world: a "fireside chat." But any right? So how do we build events for his reelection. tion we're going to have
tele-town halls, virtual fund- momentum he's sought to systems where he can go Murtaugh said the cam- should get out of group
raisers and livestreamed build has been sapped, as out and meet people, still paign hopes to roll out "live therapy, go to JoeBiden.
speeches from candidates' Biden, the former vice pres- talk to people, get those and interactive" events com and make a dona-
homes, sometimes with ident, has won a string of one-on-one engagements, with surrogates online in the tion," said Robert Zimmer-
awkward results. contests that put the nomi- and also make people feel coming days. Still, don't ex- man, a prominent New York
The abrupt shift has infused nation within his grasp. like they're a part of some- pect to see Trump partici- donor and Democratic Na-
the contest with an added Sanders' campaign did not thing?" Flaherty said. pating in them. tional Committee member
degree of uncertainty. respond to a request for The campaign is also look- Murtaugh said that as who said he would be fine
With control of the White comment. ing into adopting the use Trump and Vice President casting his ballot for Biden
House at stake, candidates The pause has provided of Slack, a popular group Mike Pence hold televised during a virtual convention.
have been forced to ditch Biden the opportunity to communication platform, briefings daily, the cam- "The pandemic that we're
well-honed strategies in retool his campaign, which now that staffers are work- paign's role is to amplify facing and the threat it
favor of untested tactics. was running on fumes ing from home. their message. represents puts everything
There are doubts about before his massive win in Trump, too, is not immune "Americans want to see in the proper perspective."
whether they will be able South Carolina last month from the effects. Though that their president and But it's not just the presiden-
to continue raising crucial reset the race. But he lacks the Republican has the their government is on the tial candidates who will
cash as unemployment the robust digital operation megaphone of the presi- case," he said. have to grapple with this
soars and the economy that Sanders and Trump dency, his dismissive early While Biden has called for new reality. Down-ballot
sputters. There are also have. And his early experi- response to the virus and the country to come to- candidates could find the
concerns that a virtual ments in online campaign- denials that a pandemic gether for a moment of bi- shift to an all-digital cam-
campaign could foster the ing have had mixed results. was spreading have been partisanship to address the paign particularly chal-
spread of misinformation Biden aimed to appear largely panned. crisis, other Democrats are lenging because many of
and maybe even force the presidential during a At the same time, he's be- itching to use Trump's han- them are running on much
cancellation of the major livestream Tuesday night, ing denied the ability to dling of it as an election- thinner budgets and have
party conventions this sum- when he won primaries in hold the freewheeling ral- year attack. less money to spend on ads
mer. Florida, Illinois and Arizona. lies that are a staple of his "Using Trump's own words and staff to make up for the
"Nobody's had to put to- Standing before a podium presidency and that allow and actions to remind loss of in-person interaction.
gether a general election with an austere backdrop him to blow off steam, at- people of his failures while "If you have no money,
strategy in the circum- from his home state of Del- tack rivals and often shift he tries to rewrite history is and you're dependent on
stances we face today," aware, he called on the the media narrative. essential," tweeted David meeting people out in or-
Anita Dunn, Biden's senior nation to put politics aside As campaign offices have Plouffe, Barack Obama's ganic environments, the
adviser, told The Associ- to fight the coronavirus emptied out and workers former campaign manag- challenges you now face
ated Press. "I like to say ev- because it "doesn't care if telecommute from home, er. are huge," said Kelly Diet-
ery election is different. This you're a Democrat or a Re- trainings for his reelection So far, at least, a politi- rich, CEO of the National
election is really, really, re- publican." effort are now being done cal committee affiliated Democratic Training Com-
ally different." Yet an earlier event was virtually, as are all voter with Trump's reelection has mittee, a group that trains
Digital advertising and on- marred by technical glitch- contacts. opted against taking the Democrats who want to
line outreach were always es. At one point, Biden Tim Murtaugh, the com- same course. America First run for office or work on a
going to play a major role wandered off-camera. munications director for Action, a super PAC sanc- campaign.
in the election. But no one The campaign later apol- Trump's reelection cam- tioned by Trump, has post- Even well-funded players
could anticipate that tac- ogized for the difficulties, paign, said the campaign poned plans to spend mil- in the presidential race are
tile politics would be com- and Rob Flaherty, Biden's is "best equipped" for the lions attacking Biden in TV feeling the pinch. q