President Joe Biden’s campaign advisers seem to be afraid of the Democrat party’s voters, as some are reportedly pushing for aspects of a virtual convention to avoid protests over the administration’s handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Politico Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin reported Friday that some of Biden’s closest advisers are looking to synthesize portions of a traditional convention with 2020’s iteration – which was conducted virtually during the coronavirus pandemic – all to avert potential or even likely protests:
President Joe Biden’s top advisers are all too aware the ghosts of 1968 may haunt their convention here, but they’re grappling with a pair of more urgent and thoroughly modern-day challenges as summer nears: How far can they go in reprising their virtual 2020 convention to mitigate the threat of disruption inside the arena, and how will they navigate a rookie mayor who unabashedly sympathizes with protesters?
Trumpeting the success of their Covid-era convention four years ago, some in Biden’s orbit are aggressively pushing to make the 2024 conclave a hybrid production. That would mean in-person speeches from the president, party luminaries and rising stars to draw television attention alongside a mix of pre-recorded testimonials and videos from other parts of the country.
The goal: drive maximum viewership on television and the internet while minimizing live programming and openings for protest in Chicago’s United Center. This would mean moving party business, such as rules and platform votes, off the floor and denying would-be demonstrators a chance to seize on contentious debates.
Martin’s report comes as protesters have made their way into key events for the Biden campaign, including his glitzy $20 million fundraiser in March with former Democrat Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as Breitbart News reported.
“Shame on You, Joe Biden!” Leftist Protesters Interrupt Biden, Obama, Clinton Event
One protester held a sign reading “war pig” and blew a whistle during the event. Another shouted, “Shame on you.” Multiple protesters yelled, “Blood on your hands.”
Obama snapped at the protesters, saying, “You can’t just talk, you have to listen,” a Reuters reporter noted.
The push for a virtual convention also comes as hundreds of thousands have cast variations of “uncommitted” votes in Democrat nominating contests to protest Biden and as anti-Israel encampments have taken root at college campuses in serious threats to his reelection bid.