Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden’s first virtual town hall on Friday was denounced as “an absolute technical nightmare.”
Biden had been scheduled to hold a traditional campaign event in Illinois on Friday.
However, in light of restrictions on gatherings that are being put in place in response to the coronavirus outbreak, the campaign decided to make the event a virtual town hall.
As CNN reported, the event was pushed back by two hours from its original start time, and then still started 15 minutes late.
Makena Kelly, who dissected the event for The Verge, explained what greeted her when she clicked in.
“When I logged onto Joe Biden’s first-ever virtual town hall, I was greeted with one Illinois senator adjusting the angle of her webcam and another showing off an adorable (but screaming) baby in an oddly intimate video call before the former vice president even appeared onscreen,” she wrote in her piece, which was titled simply, “Joe Biden’s first virtual town hall was an absolute technical nightmare.”
“What was at first an awkwardly silent video conference evolved into a complete technical nightmare that resulted in Biden sounding as if he was screaming in TV static for the first few minutes of the event,” she wrote.
Video Appears to Show Man Shot By ICE Assault Woman, Instigate Violence, Resist Arrest
Gun rights groups clash after man DHS says was armed fatally shot by CBP in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE Rioters Barricading Entire Blocks in Minneapolis, Police Appear MIA
Rep Maxwell Frost allegedly assaulted at Sundance Film Festival in racially-charged incident
Frey, Klobuchar call for ICE to leave Minneapolis following deadly CBP shooting in city
Noem says Minneapolis suspect committed ‘domestic terrorism,’ accuses Walz, Frey of inciting violence
Trump Resurrects Reagan-Era Pro-Life Policy, Punishes and Defunds Foreign Abortion Operations, Gender Madness
Trump to skip Super Bowl in California, criticizes performers Bad Bunny and Green Day
Alex Pretti, 37, identified as man fatally shot by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE agitator allegedly bites off federal officer’s finger during Minneapolis attack
‘Loyal soldier’: A day on the trail with JD Vance, Trump’s ‘human Swiss Army Knife’
READ IT: Bondi sends letter to Gov Walz warning Minnesota’s immigration policies endanger agents
Ever Wonder Why Even Trump Can’t Get Criminal Dems Arrested? They’re Using the ‘Blue Slip’ Trick to Stay Out of Jail and It Has to End
Trump brags about secret weapon that was key to Maduro capture: ‘The discombobulator’
Trump cites armed suspect, lack of police support following fatal Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis
Those attending the event pointed out the problems.
In fact, the first question was actually a critique from a viewer who noted, “Mr. Biden’s speech was garbly the entire time.”
Biden also seemed flummoxed by the technology.
“Am I live?” he said when the third questioner of the evening was speaking.
“Am I on camera?” he said as the fourth person asked a question.
Near the end of the town hall event, Biden wandered off screen.
At one point, only the back half of his head was visible.
While he soon came back, the campaign eventually decided that was enough. The video stream was cut, and the rest of the event was audio only:
Video Appears to Show Man Shot By ICE Assault Woman, Instigate Violence, Resist Arrest
Gun rights groups clash after man DHS says was armed fatally shot by CBP in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE Rioters Barricading Entire Blocks in Minneapolis, Police Appear MIA
Rep Maxwell Frost allegedly assaulted at Sundance Film Festival in racially-charged incident
Frey, Klobuchar call for ICE to leave Minneapolis following deadly CBP shooting in city
Noem says Minneapolis suspect committed ‘domestic terrorism,’ accuses Walz, Frey of inciting violence
Trump Resurrects Reagan-Era Pro-Life Policy, Punishes and Defunds Foreign Abortion Operations, Gender Madness
Trump to skip Super Bowl in California, criticizes performers Bad Bunny and Green Day
Alex Pretti, 37, identified as man fatally shot by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE agitator allegedly bites off federal officer’s finger during Minneapolis attack
‘Loyal soldier’: A day on the trail with JD Vance, Trump’s ‘human Swiss Army Knife’
READ IT: Bondi sends letter to Gov Walz warning Minnesota’s immigration policies endanger agents
Ever Wonder Why Even Trump Can’t Get Criminal Dems Arrested? They’re Using the ‘Blue Slip’ Trick to Stay Out of Jail and It Has to End
Trump brags about secret weapon that was key to Maduro capture: ‘The discombobulator’
Trump cites armed suspect, lack of police support following fatal Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis
Before Biden signed off, he made a comment that summed up the evening, according to Breitbart.
“I’m sorry this is such a disjointed effort here,” Biden said.
Twitter was not kind to the event:
What’s he talking about? Wow.
— Scott Sheridan (@SSheridan74) March 14, 2020
This is part of the virtual town hall the Biden campaign wouldn't post
Garbled/cut out audio, blank screens, randomly going live to unsuspecting participants
A complete disaster pic.twitter.com/eLGgHyPm91
— Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) March 14, 2020
Video Appears to Show Man Shot By ICE Assault Woman, Instigate Violence, Resist Arrest
Gun rights groups clash after man DHS says was armed fatally shot by CBP in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE Rioters Barricading Entire Blocks in Minneapolis, Police Appear MIA
Rep Maxwell Frost allegedly assaulted at Sundance Film Festival in racially-charged incident
Frey, Klobuchar call for ICE to leave Minneapolis following deadly CBP shooting in city
Noem says Minneapolis suspect committed ‘domestic terrorism,’ accuses Walz, Frey of inciting violence
Trump Resurrects Reagan-Era Pro-Life Policy, Punishes and Defunds Foreign Abortion Operations, Gender Madness
Trump to skip Super Bowl in California, criticizes performers Bad Bunny and Green Day
Alex Pretti, 37, identified as man fatally shot by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE agitator allegedly bites off federal officer’s finger during Minneapolis attack
‘Loyal soldier’: A day on the trail with JD Vance, Trump’s ‘human Swiss Army Knife’
READ IT: Bondi sends letter to Gov Walz warning Minnesota’s immigration policies endanger agents
Ever Wonder Why Even Trump Can’t Get Criminal Dems Arrested? They’re Using the ‘Blue Slip’ Trick to Stay Out of Jail and It Has to End
Trump brags about secret weapon that was key to Maduro capture: ‘The discombobulator’
Trump cites armed suspect, lack of police support following fatal Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis
Joe Biden is the worst presidential candidate of all-time.pic.twitter.com/rEVyjBy7hu
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) March 14, 2020
“Biden’s first-ever virtual town hall was a sorry first sign for the future of digital campaigning, something that will become ever more important as the presidential race heats up and coronavirus spreads across the country,” Kelly wrote.
“Hopefully the Biden campaign and others can get it together before November, or at least until the pandemic fades.”
Story cited here.
