At the beginning of 2020 it was our intention – it was my personal intention – to be your eyes and ears at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. As we have done since 2004, we intended to bring you our take on the politics and the spectacle.
Several weeks ago, the Democrats announced that their convention – originally set for Milwaukee – would be virtual. Late last week, President Trump called off the Republican convention, which had been re-set for Jacksonville, Florida. He spoke of his decision at a White House coronavirus briefing last Thursday.
I just felt it was wrong, Steve, to have people going to what turned out to be a hot spot. When we chose it, it was not at all hot, it was free. And all of a sudden it happened quickly. It happens quickly. It goes away and it goes away quickly. The key is we want it to go away without a lot of death.”
The 2020 campaign – indeed virtually every aspect of daily life – continues to be dominated by the coronavirus. On Monday, President Trump visited a plant in Morrisville, North Carolina that will manufacture one of the vaccines – developed in this case by Novavax – that is currently in the testing process. At the event, he announced developments surrounding a competing vaccine.
The Moderna vaccine has officially entered Phase 3 already – and that’s Phase 3 clinical trials, the final stage before approval. There’s never been anything like this in terms of speed, nothing even close. A second vaccine is likely to enter Phase 3 in a matter of days.”
With respect to the manufacturing of vaccines, the president said this.
We’re mass producing all of the most promising vaccine candidates in advance so that on the day one that it’s approved, it’ll be available to the American people immediately, and we’ll probably have a lot for a lot of other people throughout the world. The world is suffering from this China virus.”
Yesterday, speaking at the White House daily coronavirus briefing, the president announced a $765 million loan under the Defense Production Act to put a once iconic American company into a new business.
My administration has reached a historic agreement with a great American company. You remember this company it’s called from the good old camera age – the old days – to begin producing critical pharmaceutical ingredients. It’s called Kodak. And it’s going to be right here in America.”
Official visits and announcements give an incumbent president an edge over a challenger – particularly in a year when campaign events are so sharply curtailed. Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden is seldom leaving his home and is not venturing far from it when he does. He can only offer criticism from the sidelines. Speaking to a small gathering of supporters at a community center in Delaware, the former vice president said:
Donald Trump faces a real test and he’s failed it. The basic threshold for being president – the duty to care for the entire country, not just his re-election prospects.”
The coronavirus campaign. We have 96 days to go.