The coronavirus pandemic halted Joe Biden’s steady march to the Democratic presidential nomination, and now allies are conflicted over whether the former vice president has found his footing in the basement of his Delaware home to face the reality of the new campaign landscape.
Banned from the campaign trail and stalled by a string of primary election postponements, Biden finds himself in the tricky position of being the almost Democratic presidential nominee but without a consistent stage. He’s struggled to maintain a high profile befitting a presumptive nominee as President Trump commands the bully pulpit for the nation’s pandemic response and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo emerges as the most visible Democrat in America for now via his daily briefings.
To top it off, Biden still can’t shake Sen. Bernie Sanders, who seems determined to pursue his campaign as long as possible, even though Biden has a powerful delegate lead.
“The only a–hole doing damage to the party is Bernie Sanders,” said Joe DiSano, a Democratic political consultant based in Michigan. “He’s not going to win. He’s wasting time. Every minute that Joe Biden spends focused on Bernie Sanders is one less he’s spending on Donald Trump.”
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Trump is enjoying an uptick in approval as many Americans rally around the flag during the COVID-19 response and Biden can’t be seen fighting the commander-in-chief too aggressively during a war-like footing. Trump has captured the 2020 oxygen by holding lengthy daily press briefings on the virus response. Denied his raucous rallies, Trump uses the White House briefing to take jabs at Biden, Democrats and the press.
“I think people have forgotten who Biden is,” said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. “When he does make the occasional appearance he screws it up. Biden is almost yesterday’s man already. All the luster of the primary wins is gone. Trump is the guy who is out there. He’s the one people see. He’s the one in charge. And the fact that he’s out there every day reassures people.