Donald Trump holds coronavirus town hall


Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing
May 4, 2020: Donald Trump held a town hall to discuss the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Joe Biden called for additional oversight over coronavirus relief funds.        

Ballotpedia is monitoring changes made to election dates and procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are the presidential primary updates you need to know:

Notable Quote of the Day

“Joe Biden’s most memorable moments on the campaign trail have come through spontaneous, intensely moving encounters with people who, like Mr. Biden, have endured searing struggle and loss. His authentic sense of empathy is a quality uniquely suited to this agonizing moment.

Now Mr. Biden is mired in his basement, speaking to us remotely, like an astronaut beaming back to earth from the International Space Station.

The former vice president is a man of vast experience in government. He ran the Recovery Act for President Obama in 2009 during the economic crash and was Mr. Obama’s active partner during other crises like the H1N1 pandemic that same year and the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Yet in the midst of a catastrophic virus and devastating economic coma that command our full attention, Mr. Biden finds himself on the outside looking in. Governors and mayors have taken center stage in the only story that matters.”
— David Axelrod and David Plouffe, The New York Times

Election Updates

  • Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren co-authored an op-ed in McClatchy Sunday calling for additional oversight over coronavirus relief funding. The two said that conflicts of interest, lobbying activity, and oversight were the three areas where reforms should be focused.
  • Biden issued a statement marking World Press Freedom day. He criticized Trump’s relationship with the media and said freedom of the press was at risk in the U.S. and abroad.
  • The Democratic Party of Kansas released the results of its presidential preference primary Sunday. The primary was conducted entirely via mail-in ballot. Biden placed first in the ranked-choice tally with 76.9% of the vote to Bernie Sanders’ 23.1%.
  • Donald Trump participated in a town hall event at the Lincoln Memorial with Fox News’ Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. At the event, Trump discussed a potential timeframe for developing a coronavirus vaccine and moving antibiotics production out of China.

What We’re Reading

Flashback: May 4, 2016

Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) suspended his presidential campaign, one day after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) ended his campaign. Cruz and Kasich were the last of Donald Trump’s primary opponents to suspend their bids.

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