Democrats scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin will focus on President Donald Trump’s failures amid the coronavirus pandemic, The Hill reported on Sunday.
The event will take place over four days, beginning Monday. There will be no crowds due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, so most of the convention will be held virtually.
The Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Joe Biden — who will deliver his acceptance speech from Delaware — and other speakers will reportedly seek to link Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic to issues such as racial justice, health care and the economy.
“Simply put: It didn’t have to be this bad. We are going to remind the American people [of] that every day until Nov. 3,” Biden’s national press secretary, T.J. Ducklo, said.
Biden’s team apparently hopes that the event itself will show a contrast between how Trump has handled the issue and how Biden would deal with it.
As strategist Christy Setzer said, there will be a “stunning visual contrast — masked and safety-first Dems versus unmasked and reckless GOPers.”
“The COVID story allows Joe Biden to say everything he needs to about Donald Trump in one tight narrative,” Setzer argued.
“COVID isn’t just a public health disaster. It’s a devastating, compelling horror movie of a nation brought to its knees by a malicious, incompetent and corrupt government.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Biden has seldom left his Wilmington, Delaware home, using the opportunity to highlight the importance of social distancing and wearing a mask.
Trump has traveled regularly and rarely worn a mask, which some strategists see as a potential opening for the former vice president.
“Voters already feel anger and frustration. So Biden just needs to remind them why,” said Basil Smikle, the executive director of the New York State Democratic Party.
For Biden and his allies, the DNC could be the perfect venue to hammer home a message about competency.
Polling suggests that voters trust Biden over Trump when it comes to COVID-19. According to a CBS News /YouGov battleground poll, voters in the key states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin believe the Democrat would handle the crisis better than the commander-in-chief.
In both states, the former vice president is polling 6 percentage points ahead of Trump.
In a recent interview, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon advised Trump and his allies to contrast their records with Biden’s and weaponize the DNC’s messaging.
Trump, it seems, will do just that.
During the convention, the commander-in-chief is expected to hold speeches in the swing states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Arizona.