Nate Silver: Biden and Sanders should consider mutually agreeing to pause rallies.

[highplainsdem]

Tweet from Silver commenting on a tweet from a 538 writer about the health risk posed by rallies.

Link to tweet

I think the problem is that there's a little bit of a game of chicken in that you don't want to be the candidate who cancels first. IMO Biden and Sanders should consider mutually agreeing to pause rallies.

FWIW, I agree that they should pause the rallies soon.

My guess, though, is that Sanders will be very reluctant to do so, given his campaign always pointing to his rallies as supposedly being "proof" of his electability.

He might be assuming, too, that his young supporters are at less risk of becoming serously ill from the coronavirus...but they can always take the virus home to older family members and friends.

Right now the risk to rally goers is probably pretty low as long as rallies aren't in cities with a lot of Covid-19 cases.

But that could change quickly, and both campaigns should be willing to pause rallies if they look risky.

[still_one]

1. won't happen unfortunately

[frazzled]

2. Absolutely agree

Leadership is marked by setting examples. Our candidates should not be encouraging people to show up at crowded events in often unventilated spaces.

[George II]

3. I do't think Biden will need to hold rallies much longer. Tomorrow night and next Tuesday...

....will pretty much settle things for the Democrats, at least Democrats who look at it rationally.

[wiley]

7. Tomorrow night wil be Sanders' last.

[NurseJackie]

14. The Bernie Sanders Farewell Tour

Get the T-shirt!

[wiley]

15. No Thanks. Hungry mouths to feed

Good luck to everyone he appealed to. Sincerely. We want them, and we need them!

[NurseJackie]

16. They need us.

[Bayard]

4. Agreed

No one will be voting in November if they're all sick.

[honest.abe]

5. No way Sanders would agree to that.

Rallies are what Bernie does best and his campaign is also desperately hoping Biden makes some huge gaffe that they can pounce on.

[riversedge]

6. Trump will brag that he had not rally on Eve of Dem primary like is his usual thing to do IMHO

[Bleacher Creature]

8. This is absolutely the right call.

It's also, unfortunately, another example of the awfulness of Trump. He lives for these rallies, so there's no way he'd do the same. That said, his rallies are full of people who are most vulnerable to the virus.

[Clash City Rocker]

9. At least, they should take some precautions

Coronavirus isn’t airborne, it’s spread by physical contact, or so I’ve been told. So, simple precautions that could help...encourage people to wear long sleeve shirts and gloves, put Purell stations everywhere possible, discourage people from hugging or high fives.

[onetexan]

10. Bernie, hate to break to you but what good ar big rallies when they're not showing up to vote for u

at the polls? Nate Silvers' got something here.

[wildflowergardener]

11. Rallies

The problem is you don’t necessarily know there are cases in your city until after the Rally. I went to the Joe Biden rally here in St. Louis Saturday and then they reported Sunday that someone had tested positive for Coronavirus and her father and sister had broken self quarantine and gone to a father daughter dance at school Friday night and the girl had ridden Amtrak between Chicago & St. Louis earlier in the week, so who knows how many people they might have exposed.

[Amaryllis]

12. Even if JOe cancelled and BErnie didnt, that is a statement in itself. Who has the best interests of

the American people at heart?

[Happy Hoosier]

13. I doubt Bernie would agree... rallies are pretty much his only bright spot right now.

But I think it would be a good idea.