Notable Quote of the Day

“If Joe Biden plays his cards right, the death of the traditional presidential campaign will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The 77-year-old Mr. Biden, whom the president derisively calls ‘Sleepy Joe,’ can become the hottest bad boy and disrupter in the media game.

It seems likely that social distancing will force the presidential campaign to be played out entirely on our screens. That will free Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, of the burden of running a grueling, expensive campaign involving incessant travel.

Instead, he can be digitally omnipresent — at a small fraction of the cost and physical toll — and create a new paradigm for how presidential campaigns communicate in the press for years to come.

Mr. Biden’s greatest asset as a campaigner is his palpable empathy. Politicians can learn a lot of tricks — talking points, debate and interview strategies — but personal warmth is something that cannot be taught. It also happens to be a trait that translates well on TV.”

– Lis Smith, The New York Times 

Election Updates

• Former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder endorsed Joe Biden. Holder said, “I think you will see him deal with the whole problem of mass incarceration and continuing the work that we did during the Obama-Biden years to ask questions about the ways in which we have dealt with criminal justice issues in the nation, like, do we need to incarcerate as many people as we do? And are there alternatives to incarceration?”

• Biden tweeted regarding the February shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, “The video is clear: Ahmaud Arbery was killed in cold blood. My heart goes out to his family, who deserve justice and deserve it now. It is time for a swift, full, and transparent investigation into his murder.”

• Donald Trump said his administration’s coronavirus task force would continue indefinitely. He tweeted, “… the Task Force will continue on indefinitely with its focus on SAFETY & OPENING UP OUR COUNTRY AGAIN. We may add or subtract people … to it, as appropriate. The Task Force will also be very focused on Vaccines & Therapeutics.”

• Trump signed a Proclamation on National Nurses Day and met with healthcare professionals in the Oval Office. He said, “This is really the worst attack we’ve ever had.  This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. There’s never been an attack like this. And it should have never happened. It could have been stopped at the source. It could have been stopped in China. It should have been stopped right at the source, and it wasn’t.”

Flashback: May 7, 2016

Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders 60-40 in the Guam Democratic caucuses, winning four of Guam’s seven pledged Democratic delegates. By that time, 77% of pledged delegates had been allocated, and Clinton led Sanders by around 300 pledged delegates.