Joe Biden: Democrats ‘May Have to Do a Virtual Convention’ Due to COVID-19
While the ex-veep said a convention was necessary, it may not be feasible to have thousands of people publicly gather this summer.
Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden said on Sunday morning that the Democratic National Convention may need to be “virtual” amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, adding that the party’s convention is “necessary” this year.
Appearing on ABC’s This Week, Biden was asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether it was wise for Wisconsin to hold its primary as scheduled this upcoming Tuesday, noting fellow Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has called on it to be postponed over safety concerns.
“Well, look, I think they should just follow the science,” Biden replied. “I think whatever the science says we should do.”
Joe Biden tells @GStephanopoulos that holding the Democratic convention is “necessary,” but Democrats “may have to do a “virtual” convention amid the COVID-19 threat.
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 5, 2020
“We may not be able to put 10, 20, 30,000 people in one place and that’s very possible.” https://t.co/IWEd5ppDTB pic.twitter.com/fZUTavPNZN
Stephanopoulos, meanwhile, wondered whether this also held true for the convention, which has already been moved out to August to allow for additional time to monitor the situation with COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines. Prior to the party pushing it back a month, Biden admitted publicly that it could not occur as scheduled in July.
“And does that hold for the convention as well?” Stephanopoulos asked. “Are you open to the idea that it just might not be possible to do the convention in August?”
“Yes. Well, we'll have to do a convention, may have to do a virtual convention,” Biden responded. “We should be thinking about that right now. The idea of holding a convention is going to be necessary but we may not be able to put 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 people in one place and that's very possible.”
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The former vice president reiterated the need to “follow the science” while stating that we need to listen to the experts, specifically citing top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. He further noted that amid the health crisis, the country may need to start thinking about how it’s going to hold elections, saying voting by mail could be a national option.
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