Joe Biden Appears In Public For 1st Time In Two Months–Wearing A Face Mask

25 May 2020 by Nicholas Reimann

TOPLINE

Joe Biden emerged from his Delaware home Monday to make his first public appearance in over two months, laying a wreath at a local veterans park near his home in honor of Memorial Day while wearing a black face mask — appearing in stark contrast to President Donald Trump, who has refused to be seen in a mask publicly.

https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/335c26d138214b80908d4ccebb098900/960x0.jpg?fit=scale — Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to place a wreath at the ... [+] Delaware Memorial Bridge Veterans Memorial Park with Jill Biden, Monday, May 25, 2020, in New Castle, Del. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)ASSOCIATED PRESS

KEY FACTS

This is the first time the 77-year-old Biden has appeared in public since mid-March, when he decided to essentially continue campaigning from home — where he’s made many virtual appearances from his basement — as the coronavirus spread.

Biden laid a wreath and could be heard saying “never forget,” the Associated Press reported, noting that his visit was unannounced and there wasn’t a crowd around.

Biden has been the presumptive Democratic nominee since Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign on April 8, setting the former vice president up as the major alternative to President Donald Trump in the November election.

While Biden has limited himself to virtual campaign events, Trump ramped up his public visibility, for weeks holding news conferences essentially every day that regularly ran on for hours.

Biden’s decision to stay at home has led to regular criticism from Trump, with some Democrats even saying openly that they’d like to see the former vice president get out of his house.

Biden’s advisers say they plan to return to regular campaigning at some point, according to AP, but only when health experts indicate it’s safe to do so again.

KEY BACKGROUND

At 77, Biden falls within a demographic considered especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, with the CDC recommending that older adults take more precautions compared to the general population.

Though his campaign got off to a slow start, Biden took home a massive delegate haul after winning most of the Super Tuesday states in March, leaving Sen. Bernie Sanders as his only serious competition. Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee on April 8, a day after defeating Sanders in the Wisconsin primary, which was controversially held in-person.

Memorial Day is one of personal significance for Biden, whose oldest son Beau — an Army veteran — died of brain cancer in 2015.

CRITICAL QUOTE

“I feel great to be out here,” Biden told reporters, according to AP.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR