Trump’s And Biden’s Memorial Day Events Highlight Starkly Different Campaign Tones

TOPLINE

As a maskless President Donald Trump was greeted in Baltimore by a sizeable, tightly packed crowd of largely maskless supporters for his Memorial Day visit, his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, donned a mask at a crowdless wreath laying ceremony, underscoring a deep tonal divide between the two candidates.

KEY FACTS

Trump delivered a Memorial Day speech at Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, where his motorcade was greeted by a raucous crowd of supporters, many of whom were not wearing masks or social distancing.

As with his last visit to Baltimore, Trump was also received by protestors, who were socially distanced and wearing masks.

Trump, whose visit was repudiated by the Mayor of Baltimore for its violation of the city’s stay-at-home order, was without a mask for the entire event.

By contrast, Biden, whose campaign has been relegated to solely digital events since March, was seen wearing a mask as he attended a low-key, uncontroversial wreath laying ceremony in his first public appearance since the outbreak of the virus.

Biden was not greeted by a crowd, instead thanking a handful of veterans for their service from a distance.

Key background

As septuagenarians, Trump, 73, and Biden, 77, would both be at heightened risk of serious cases of the virus if they contracted it. As a result of that, and the optics, the campaigns and the White House have eschewed in-person events for much of the coronavirus crisis. But the White House has loosened its attitude in recent weeks, with Trump visiting a Honeywell factory in Arizona, a Ford factory in Michigan and now Fort McHenry in May. The Trump campaign has already reportedly been discussing a return to Trump’s megarallies, which regularly feature thousands of supporters.

News Peg

Trump’s and Biden’s Memorial Day events underscore the diametrically opposite tonal differences between their two campaigns. Whereas Biden has largely pitched a measured, scientific response to the virus, Trump has leaned more towards reopening the country as haphazardly as necessary to get the economy back on track. 

Tangent

The events are also reminiscent of the campaigns’ divergent communication methods. The Washington Post’s Dave Weigel tested the Trump and Biden campaign apps, and found that while the Trump app is “addictive, fun, and reinforces your priors,” the Biden app is “much more somber.” The two campaigns, Weigel concluded, “operate in different universes.”

What To Look For

Both candidates will likely be ramping up their in-person appearances if US coronavirus cases continue dropping. However, it will be worth watching whether Trump or Biden hits the campaign trail first, and what precautions the candidates take when appearing at rallies and events