/Election: Biden, Sanders, Trump scrap campaign events over coronavirus

Election: Biden, Sanders, Trump scrap campaign events over coronavirus


Associated Press

Joe Biden, accompanied by wife Jill, speaks to members of the press at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The former vice president had been scheduled to speak in Cleveland.

The coronavirus outbreak is scrambling presidential campaign events, with the two main Democrats scrapping rallies and President Donald Trump canceling multiple events after giving a televised speech Wednesday evening.

Democrats’ and Republicans’ nominating conventions remain on the schedule for this summer, as officials say they’re monitoring developments. A Sunday-night debate between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, will be held in Arizona without a live audience, the Democratic National Committee announced late Tuesday. Biden plans to give remarks on Thursday in Delaware about responding to the coronavirus epidemic, in place of a previously scheduled event in Florida.

Trump will no longer travel to Colorado and Nevada for events at the end of the week, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement, “out of an abundance of caution from the coronavirus outbreak.”

And the president’s 2020 campaign said the same reason was behind postponing a “Catholics for Trump” event next week in Milwaukee.

Tuesday night, as returns were coming in from voting in six states, Sanders and Biden both announced they were halting rallies scheduled to take place in Cleveland.

“All future Bernie 2020 events will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” said a Sanders campaign statement. Biden’s campaign said it would “continue to consult with public health officials and public health guidance and make announcements about future events in the coming days.”

Now see: Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to think the coronavirus threat is ‘exaggerated,’ new survey finds.

Milwaukee is the site of the July 13-16 Democratic convention. DNC Chairman Tom Perez said Tuesday he doesn’t think it’s “in jeopardy.” He told NPR that he’s confident it will take place and that he’s been in touch with state, local and federal officials to ensure it can be held without risk.

The GOP convention is scheduled for Aug. 24-27 in Charlotte, N.C. A spokeswoman told the Charlotte Observer on Monday that Republicans are “closely monitoring and coordinating” with the administration to get regular updates.

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