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I'm Keri Dan. When you think about political campaigning, in any era, not just the one we're living in now, there are some cliché images that come to mind. Kissing babies, right? Back-slapping, glad-handing, pressing the flesh.
The whistle-stop tour, political rallies, playing to the crowd. And campaign staff, right? Door knocking, pressure cooker strategy sessions, late nights in the bunker, eating cold pizza, rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty for democracy. All of that is a public health nightmare at a time when literally the instructions from health officials to help stop the spread of coronavirus are to keep your hands clean.
And for God's sake, don't shake hands with a bunch of strangers. Avoid big crowds. Stay away from work when you don't feel well. And try as much as you can to, quote, socially distance yourself from other people.
Social distancing is quite literally the opposite of political campaigning as we know it. But that's the world we're living in now, and the political campaigns are trying to adapt in real time. After Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders canceled political rallies earlier this week, they both announced that their teams are taking dramatic measures to help stop the virus's spread. They've asked all staff to work from home.
They're canceling all planned in-person campaign rallies and moving to all digital campaigning as much as possible. Even the weekend debate has been impacted It been relocated from Arizona to D to cut down on travel and there will be no live audience and no media file or spin room By the way the Trump campaign is also asking its staff to work from home and is relying on virtual events as well So how do you do that How do you create momentum with no crowds? How do you persuade with no door knocking? How do you meet and greet without meeting or greeting?
And how on earth do you raise money at fundraisers without tiny, fancy appetizers? Bernie Sanders, of course, has his own answer to that question because he doesn't do traditional big dollar fundraisers, but Biden and Trump, too. And they are going to face that challenge when it comes to raising money. The answer to all of this is they're just going to have to get real creative.
Biden is holding a virtual town hall in Illinois ahead of Tuesday's primary, and the campaigns are all rapidly trying to adapt with more digital tools to reach out to voters. And of course, there's always the old standby to flooding the TV airwaves, although that requires cash, which, well, see above on the whole fundraising thing, particularly in a time of great economic uncertainty. But at least for now, get ready for the virtual campaign, with all of those campaign professionals fighting just as hard as they always do in the name of American democracy. Except maybe they're slightly more likely to be wearing their PJs on the couch.
That's a live for us. We'll be back Monday. If you'd like to hear more of this free audio briefing, you can always download us on your favorite podcast app.