My only advice to Joe Biden...

[Drunken Irishman]

As someone who has supported his campaign since Day One, and even all the way back in 2015 before he announced he was not going to run in 2016, my advice is this:

2020 is not the same animal any of us thought a year ago. Biden doesn't do many events anymore, and that means, they're all the more important when he does. He's done only a handful of major interviews the last couple months and two of those interviews resulted in wall-to-wall negative press, and less focus on any other portion of the interview, because of comments he said about race.

In a normal election cycle, it would not be a big deal. Why? Because in 24 to 48 hours, another rally or TV interview or speech would come along and take that supposed gaffe out of the news. This is what aided Trump in 2016 and what is hindering him today: in 2016, he'd say something crazy and then there'd be a rally or event that completely drowned out exactly what he said. Today, though? He's limited too in what he can do, so, his gaffes get plays as well.

But with Biden, it's also problematic because he just isn't in the news much. He might give a speech one week and then you don't hear anything from him specifically for another two weeks - until there is an interview. When something needs clarifying, like his comments the other day, that becomes all everyone hears when they actually hear something about his campaign. That is not sustainable - no more sustainable than it is for Trump.

So, there are two options here:

Biden needs to do more interviews, which allows him a chance to keep himself in the news cycle, and not his gaffes in the news cycle while he averages an interview every two-plus weeks...or he needs to really be prepared and disciplined in his remarks so that the gaffes aren't the only thing people are talking about when you inevitably put yourself out there.

And this would go for any candidate. It's a unique situation we're in. There's just not the capacity to change the narrative due to the fact there are no campaign rallies, and even fewer speeches because of the complexities of ensuring safety measures. So, each interview is more vital than ever before because it's really the only time Biden is getting out there to face the voters. He needs his A game for that reason - and again, it would be the case no matter who we nominated. Unless Biden starts doing daily national interviews, so the focus shifts quickly to something else, he's gotta treat it like this is the last, best chance to win the presidency each and every time because, in the last 90 days, I feel like I can count on my hand how many unscripted interviews (so, not prepared speeches) Biden has had - and we've got 90 days left in the race. Every single interview is going to be 1000x more important than if this were a normal campaign for that reason.

I liked that Biden went into a pretty tough environment and was pushed on some of his answers. I think, for the most part, he handled it well enough ... but this is all everyone is talking about and it even forced him to do the dreaded clarifying of his remarks.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first - but we kind of need it to be the last. And only because, as I said, there's so few opportunities out there to get his name in any type of discussion that those moments can't be bogged down also with everyone losing their shit over what amounts to a fairly minor gaffe (and let me be clear: it was a minor gaffe, but those minor gaffes are amplified due to the overall climate and environment we're in, unfortunately).

I guess there is a third option and that's to go completely radio silence but that isn't practical.

The way I see it, there are five more set in stone events where Biden will have an opportunity to dominate the news cycles:

1. The VP announcement.
2. His convention speech.
3. The first debate.
4. The second debate.
5. The third debate.

I also have a feeling Trump might weasel his way out of the debates because, if he's still losing, he can't risk his own gaffes, which are way more humiliating, to be honest, on the hope that Biden will have his own gaffes, if that makes sense. But let's assume the debates do go on as scheduled - that's five moments, not counting speeches and interviews, where Biden will have the potential to seize the news cycle.

That's not a lot. Which means, these interviews, and to a lesser extent, his speeches, are all the more important because gone are the daily rallies and townhalls that the media loved to cover. They're not covering them anymore because they're all on Zoom, or whatever.

Biden is still in good shape, and these gaffes are minor. But I also think it's important he take advantage of the small moments where he actually has a captive national audience because he has some great ideas and a strong message that completely gets lost in the gaffe chatter of the press.

It also lessened the impact of Trump's gaffes this week. Trump remains his own worst enemy - use that.

[Aristus]

1. I like it that Joe is staying out of the public eye a little.

It gives us a glimpse into what a Biden Presidency will be like. With Trump gone, I no longer have to dread logging on in the mornings and wondering "What has that shitstain done now?"

With Biden as President, maybe not every day will be filled with existential dread...

[Drunken Irishman]

2. I don't have a problem with that but when he is in the public eye, he has to make it count.

Because if the only time people are talking about Joe Biden is when they're talking about his gaffes, then that defeats the purpose and leads us to say, "shit, what did Biden say now?"

When he's trending on twitter, it's ever rarely a good thing, unfortunately.

So, if he plays it low-key, fine. But when he does give these interviews, it's all the more important he bring his A game so that he can keep it low-key.

[LakeArenal]

3. To me, there is no such thing as a Biden "gaffe"

It WAS A BIG EFFIN DEAL.

Corny sayings and a misspoken word is not a gaffe.

Stutters are not mental acuity.

In the world of liars and traitors, it’s ridiculous to call Biden gaffe prone.

Most of us are happy right where Joe is in this time.
Efforts for him to come out in public is almost sabotage.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. I didn't call Biden gaffe prone.

But you don't matter.

No offense. I don't matter, either. You and I are going to vote Joe no matter what.

But the pandemic has boxed Joe into a tough spot where there's not a lot of media oxygen. So, when he does these interviews, the prevailing story can't be, "omg did you hear what Biden said?" because then that's all people start associating his campaign with because he just isn't out there enough to dominate media coverage.

This was a perfect week to have a low-key interview that maybe got people talking about his plan to potentially prosecute Trump if guilty, or some of his stances on immigration, and his plan to help minorities, in direct contrast to the horrific Trump Axos interview & his ramblings about Yosemite and 'Thighland'.

Except no one is talking about Biden's proposals and now Trump's gaffes are being compared to Biden's. Everyone is talking about his comments on race, one he had to clarify.

Biden made the news once this week and it was about this supposed gaffe.

He can't have many more weeks like that or people are going to start doing to him what they did to Hillary and state, "this is the best you've got, Democrats?"

[LakeArenal]

6. I couldn't disagree with you more.

2020 is not 2016.20. This election is
Good vs evil

Right side of history vs wrong

Democracy vs Fascism

It not about how many times you are on tv

If anybody doesn’t see that, they weren’t going to vote for Biden.

If I don’t count to you. I know I count to Joe Biden

[Drunken Irishman]

7. You're disagreeing with a point that isn't being made.

So, disagree all you want. I am not advocating for Biden to do more interviews. I put that as one of two suggestions to combat the current situation. The other, which is the exact opposite of what you said, is that he bring his A game to each and every one of these interviews he does because they're literally the only time he's ever mentioned.

It's just ignorant to say, in a race that is now closer today than it was a month ago, that these moments don't matter.

Like I said, I can count on my hands how many times Biden has actually done interviews/Q&As over the course of the last 90 days. That doesn't count the prepared remarks which have him reading off a teleprompter - but I will count the occasional Q&A he's done after (I think there have been two). If he's not going to be on TV, or granting interviews, at a more aggressive clip these next 90 days, he can't sustain, every time he actually is interviewed, the media focus being his gaffes.

Why? Because no one is hearing from Biden. At all. Watch the nightly news and you barely would even realize it's an election year. And that's fine, because again I am not advocating for more time on TV. So, when Biden does make national news, which is very rare, it can't be because of a supposed gaffe. It just can't. That's all everyone is going to hear because he's not engaging in the media environment. So, when he does engage, he has to make them count. Then he gets the luxuries of the interview, without having it overshadowed by the negative press.

But look at the current headlines for Joe Biden on ABC News:

There are currently three stories on ABCNews.com's homepage about Biden.

One is neutral (saying China is working to defeat Trump and Russia to defeat Biden) and two negative. These are the negative headlines:

Biden faces backlash after comparing diversity in African American, Latino communities

The Note: Biden's problem talking about race surface again

Not one positive story about Biden on their front page.

Guess how many negative Trump stories right now on their front page?

Zero.

Nothing about his gaffes this week.

CBS News:

One of the major headlines right now:

Biden apologizes for comments on race - video and all!

There's that neutral report stating Russia is working to get Biden to lose and China is working to get Trump to lose.

Guess how many negative Trump stories?

Zero. Trump's headlines based on the campaign:

Trump campaign launches bus tours through swing states

In Ohio, Trump offers argument for his reelection

Trump raises $165 million in July, beating Biden by $25 million

Oh sorry - there is one negative Trump headline: Is Trump's electoral college advantage slipping?

But not really negative.

Let's go on over to NBCNews:

One of their top stories:

Biden tries to clarify remarks suggesting lack of diversity in the Black community

Everything else is about VP antiicapation.

For Trump, most headlines are neutral about things he's doing as president - but nothing really negative.

What about CNN?

Biden seeks to clarify comment that Latino community is diverse, 'unlike the African American community'

The rest are about his VP pick.

I'll give CNN credit, they are the first network to prominently display an article about Trump attacking Biden's faith.

My point? Biden is going to get dinged if the only time he's in the news is if the news is reporting his gaffe. That is all. There is nothing to disagree with there. It's a fact. You said it yourself, he doesn't need to be on television. Okay. But when he does get these interviews, he has to ace them because the only time the media is talking about his campaign is either through a prepared speech, or an interview. The prepared speeches don't offer anything that could be a gaffe because he's reading from the teleprompter. However, the interviews are less disciplined and they lead to these moments. So, he either cuts out the interviews entirely, which I actually do think is a bad idea, or he makes sure he handles these interviews like they're the only thing standing between him and the White House.

Why? Because Biden has done well NOT being the story. Right now, Biden's comments ARE the story. Not Trump. Not not his gaffes and a lot of that is because we have little opportunity to actually hear from Biden.

[LakeArenal]

8. For someone who thinks I don't matter, you sure are using lots of paragraphs to discount me.

Have a great drunken day Irishman.

[Drunken Irishman]

9. I'm not discounting you. I'm flatly saying you're wrong.

And I provided proof of it. But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what either of us think about Biden's gaffes because WE DON'T MATTER. It's not that hard to understand. Why don't we matter? Because we're going to vote for Biden no matter what.

The gaffes DO MATTER to those who've not decided whether they'll vote for Biden, vote third party or not vote at all.

If you can't see that, then I assume you're also the type of person who dismissed me when I raised question about Hillary in 2016 and the constant media storm revolving around her e-mails, and then the Comey Letter. Because the exact same point you're making then was made to me four years ago. Right down to the fact that 'no one cares about the e-mails'.

Well guess what? They did.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

5. My advice for Joe is much shorter.

Don't fuck this up!

[Ferrets are Cool]

10. I will add mine

Don't debate serial LIARS.

[lastlib]

11. I don't give a shit if Joe came out and said Poland isn't dominated by Russia*....

or if he says trees cause more pollution than cars**--I'M EFFIN' VOTIN' FOR HIM!! I'll campaign my ass off for him. I will run over my mother to put him in the White House.


(*For the young folks on board--this was a famous debate gaffe by Gerald Ford in the '76 presidential debates against Jimmy Carter. It may have cost him the election.
** This was a famous Reagan gaffe in the 1980 campaign which, to our great misfortune, did not cost him the election, but proved him to be a doddering idiot.)

[LanternWaste]

12. Biden need merely do what he's been doing...

and in doing so, allow Trump to keep failing via his own unique, spectacular, and petulant manner of leadership... it's turning off more people every day.

Biden need not win, Trump only need fail... and he's doing that. On national television. Every day. In the spotlight. Alone.

[Drunken Irishman]

15. This is what I've been saying but this week he didn't.

The week ends with the focus being on Biden, not Trump. That's been the prominent news headlines.

ABC News ran with it today and yesterday. Their video, posted on their YT channel, already has 71,000 views. To contrast, the videos posted around the same time only have 14,000 and 6,200 views. This was just seven hours ago.

But that was only one video. A second one was posted 21 hours ago headlined: Trump blasts Biden for comments about black diversity. It has 77,000 views.

That might seem insignificant but guess how many stories were aired on ABC News about Trump's gaffes this week?

Zero.

CBS is better - they don't have any videos posted of the story.

I won't even get into FOX.

But it's important Biden not gift Trump, especially when Trump is having a bad week. The fact is, this was a bad week for Trump. It started with that horrific interview, and his gaffe about 'it is what it is', moved on to his mispronouncing Yosemite, than Thailand and his baseless attacks on Biden's religion.

But the story as the week ends? Not Trump's errors, or Biden's strong response on faith - but Biden once again having to walk back claims on race.

If he's going to sit out most this election, and continue doing what he's doing, he cannot allow for these moments where he's out there to go like this. Because that becomes the story. It'll die down, of course, but shit like this can build up if it's the only thing we're hearing about Biden.

And I guarantee you, this Sunday, the Sunday news shows won't shut up about it.

[TeamPooka]

13. The media will "create" and "promote" "gaffes" because they need a tight horse race to sell ads

to both sides

[Drunken Irishman]

14. I agree, which is why Biden needs to do better.

Especially with his limited media engagement.

[Blue_true]

16. I know that a lot of people won't like what I write.

Joe needs to do more carefully planned “public” events. His campaign staff is doing him a great disservice in not realizing that. I don’t understand why some of these “consultants” get paid so much, except for President Obama’s two campaign staffs and President Clinton’s two campaign staff, the rest have really been tone deaf at key moments.

Biden is going to have a difficult time staying home and winning this with Trump doing group events. The optics just won’t work for 3 months. Even though Trump doesn’t let anyone get near him that is not tested, the fact is he is showing up before crowds and getting local, state and national media covering those events.

We have decent empirical data that protest crowds that have a large amount of masks being worn properly aren’t getting sick. Joe needs to do more in the person public events and use a dedicated campaign plane to fly to those events. ANYONE who gets on the plane with him must test negative AND wear a mask properly during the entire flight, one case of not doing that and they don’t get on the plane again. At his public events, there should be a minimum six foot spacing between him and anyone else, and EVERYONE must have on a mask worn properly the whole time, one violation and a person gets his or her ass walked out and never be allowed in a Biden event again. The contrast between a Biden event and a Trump one concerning known effective safety procedures would be stark and would reassure Americans that Joe has the organization and discipline to bring the country out of the tailspin that it is in.

And for debates, Biden’s team MUST insist upon Biden being on the same stage with Trump, socially distanced at least 10 feet. Biden has a huge advantage over Trump one on one without notes. If the debate is remote, Biden may be in front of the cameras alone, but I promise you that Trump will demand that staff cheat and help him with clues - Trump simply won’t allow himself to be in a room alone without help.

That is what I believe, I really don’t care that you don’t agree with me. With public appearances, I am starting to get the same sick feeling in my gut that I got with Hillary’s campaign in 2016 when she would seem to spend little time on the campaign trail at times. I remember thinking with Hillary “where is Hillary?”. Biden can’t count on just the debates and ads to knock Trump out, in particular if the debates are remote.

[Drunken Irishman]

17. I agree in part.

I do think Trump's scaling back significantly his rallies is going to give Biden leverage to continue doing what he's doing.

The big thing Biden needs to do is get on local news in these swing states. They'll absolutely interview him remote. Do every channel you can think of. After all, if he's not traveling, how is he spending his time? Each day he should be doing an interview with a local news affiliate in each swing state. There's at least four - and multiple markets to boot! Start doing rotations.

Monday, we'll do Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and another area in Pennsylvania.
Tuesday, we'll do Detroit, East Lansing and another, smaller news outlet.
Wednesday, we'll do Milwaukee, Madison and another smaller news outlet.
Thursday, we'll do Orlando, Miami and Tampa.
Friday, we'll do Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

And keep going - hit those local networks.

[Blue_true]

18. That would work. It will get him on statewide news each day in one of those states.

I can’t see why his high paid consultants can’t see that. People view ads as polished, they remove a candidate’s warts. Seeing a person real time on local news answering questions allow voters to see that person’s grasp of the issues and ability to think on his or her feet.