For the past several months, Donald Trump, his campaign, and his aides have constantly slammed Joe Biden for hiding in the basement of his home in Wilmington, Delaware. With the Democratic National Convention that started on Monday, the former vice president revived the narrative about the efficiency behind his candidacy.
First off, he will be getting out of the "basement," although the pandemic stricken convention will be largely virtual. Moreover, Biden is slated to deliver his nomination address on Thursday, Aug. 20 from the Chase Center, a convention center located in his home of Wilmington, Delaware, according to Fox News.
The star-studded lineup will be responsible for breathing new life into a base that been suffering from lack of enthusiasm after former President Barack Obama stopped topping the Democratic ticket. To ensure this, it will have guest musical performances from John Legend and other artists placed alongside addresses by the Clintons, the Obamas, as well as AOC (U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).
Democratic consultant and communications strategist Lynda Tran said one of the priorities will be to ensure that the people watching across the country feel enthusiastic about the national ballot and are excited about making their voices heard and feel empowered and hopeful. The four-day event will also serve as a test run for how the virtual convention can be held before Republicans adopt the same method in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, the GOP is all set to denigrate Biden and his campaign during the convention week. There would be echoes of the allegations they have been making against the former veep all season. During an interview with Fox News in June, Trump accused Biden of remaining in the basement for a long time and mocked him.
Popular conservative radio host and Trump supporter Howie Carr dubbed the president's opponent as "Punxsutawney Joe Biden," referencing the Pennsylvania groundhog that emerges only once a year to predict how long winter will last. While Biden has stepped outside his basement studio multiple times to hold campaign events in Delaware and Pennsylvania, it can't be denied that he has run a subdued presidential general election campaign.
This is partly because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has prevented both Biden and Trump from holding rallies or town halls. The Biden strategy has ensured that the political spotlight remains on Trump and how he handled the pandemic in the initial stage and failed to stop the national economy from collapsing due to the restrictions implements to stop the virus from spreading.
It looks like Biden's strategy is working as he leads the president in national polling and a large number of general election battleground state surveys.