WASHINGTON – During a virtual fund-raiser in late March, as the coronavirus pandemic forced presidential campaigns to contend with a strange new digital-only existence, a donor worried about Joe Biden’s prospects.
“What I’m concerned about is that we see Donald Trump every day with this crisis giving his press report,” the caller said. “How do we get more of you and less of him on our airwaves?”
Speaking from his home in Wilmington, Del., the former vice president pointed to his new high-speed Internet connection and the basement recreation room transformed into a television studio. Beginning the next day, Biden assured the donors, he was “going to speak to these issues.”
And so he has, although how many people are paying attention is still a major question for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
A politician known for backslapping and handshaking retail politics has been learning to connect with voters — and just as importantly raise money — in virtual spaces at a time when businesses are shuttering, the ranks of the unemployed are surging, and families are bracing for an uncertain future.
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