Election day is just eight days away and Joe Biden is mostly taking Monday off. Only CBS This Morning seemed to find this odd, deeming it a “curiosity.” ABC and NBC didn’t seem bothered by the decision. ABC dishonestly described the Democrat as “stepping things up” with his campaign. At the time senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce said that, Biden had exactly ZERO events scheduled.
On Good Morning America, Bruce spun: “Now this week, Trump is ramping up his already breakneck pace planning to visit nearly a dozen states including holding 11 rallies in just the last 48 hours. Joe Biden is also stepping things up. He’s planning to hit six key battleground states.”
Stepping things up? Not on Monday. At the time Bruce made the comment, 7:12 AM, Biden had NO events scheduled. By midday, the campaign had set up a “local stop” in home state Wilmington, Delaware. That’s it.
On CBS This Morning, perplexed co-host Tony Dokoupil wondered, “Somewhat of a curiosity this morning is Joe Biden is not on the campaign trail even as his competitor, Donald Trump, is all over the place. What are we to read into that fact?” (Where have journalists been on this? Biden has been repeatedly calling a lid on his day, often before 10 AM.)
Reporter Ed O’Keefe tried to explain: “He is off the trail today. Look, it seems that he's going out two, three times a week and skipping a day in between. They continue to insist that they can hold virtual events, that he can do this and still reach voters.”
O’Keefe then added that this strategy will either be brilliant or a disaster:
I don't think we're really going to get a good measure on whether or not that worked of course until we have results. It either will have been a brilliant play, an adaptive move to the pandemic era, or it's going to prove to be one of the biggest missed opportunities in American politics that he wasn't out and about.
On NBC’s Today, Savannah Guthrie neutrally mentioned the leisurely pace of the Biden campaign: “Joe Biden is off the trail today, but planning his own blitz starting in Georgia tomorrow.”
Credit to NBC, at least, for highlighting the latest Biden gaffe. The Democrat appeared to confuse Trump for George W. Bush, the 2004 Republican nominee.
Here’s that exchange:
WELKER: Biden making headlines overnight after appearing to confuse his opponent's name.
BIDEN: Four more years of George — George — we find ourselves in a position where if Trump gets elected, we're going to be — we're going to be in a different world.
ABC’s false spin for the Biden campaign was sponsored by Amazon and Capital One. Click on the links to let them know what you think.
Partial transcripts can be found below. Click “expand” to read more.
CBS This Morning
10/26/2020
8:04 AM ETTONY DOKOUPIL: And with all those early votes, we constantly remind people we may not have official results, in fact probably will not on election day. It's going to take some time to count and verify everyone. That's a normal part of the process and people should be patient. Somewhat of a curiosity this morning is Joe Biden is not on the campaign trail even as his competitor, Donald Trump, is all over the place. What are we to read into that fact?
ED O’KEEFE: Yeah, he spent the weekend campaigning in Pennsylvania, held two different appearances there, one in suburban Philadelphia, another up closer to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was born. He is off the trail today. Look, it seems that he's going out two, three times a week and skipping a day in between. They continue to insist that they can hold virtual events, that he can do this and still reach voters. And I don't think we're really going to get a good measure on whether or not that worked of course until we have results. It either will have been a brilliant play, an adaptive move to the pandemic era or it's going to prove to be one of the biggest missed opportunities in American politics that he wasn't out and about.
Meanwhile, look at the President, holding multiple rallies today in Pennsylvania. Look where he's going in the states that he's visited. Over the weekend he was in suburban Milwaukee in a very Republican part of that state trying to turn out Republican voters. A Republican part of North Carolina. Not the suburbs of Charlotte or Raleigh necessarily trying to find swing voters. He goes up to New Hampshire yesterday for some reason, despite the fact that Biden is leading him there by several single digits and goes all the way to northern Maine to pick apples and try to turn out Republican voters in that one congressional district that can actually dole out its electoral college vote separate from the state. He may need that one. But it shows you he's trying to gin up base support and not necessarily find new voters, a signal that perhaps they are giving up on trying to persuade people.
DOKOUIPIL: And that’s not a theory. When we were in Eerie County in Pennsylvania, the President said at his rally there in Eerie, “Prior to the pandemic, I wasn’t coming to Eerie. Maybe I’d get on the phone.” Things have changed. So he’s making some trips. Ed, thank you very much.
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Today
10/26/2020
7:03 a.m. EasternSAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Joe Biden is off the trail today, but planning his own blitz starting in Georgia tomorrow.
(....)
7:05 a.m. Eastern
KRISTEN WELKER: Biden making headlines overnight after appearing to confuse his opponent's name.
JOE BIDEN: Four more years of George — George — we find ourselves in a position where if Trump gets elected, we're going to be — we're going to be in a different world.
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Good Morning America
10/26/2020
7:12 a.m. EasternMARY BRUCE: Now this week Trump is ramping up his already breakneck pace planning to visit nearly a dozen states including holding 11 rallies in just the last 48 hours. Joe Biden is also stepping things up. He’s planning to hit six key battleground states and comes as early vote something smashing records already passing the total number of early votes in 2016. Amy.
